


Reunion of Souls

by M1dn1ght_Star



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: After 3rd year at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore Bashing, BAMF Harry Potter, Compulsions, Copious mentions of various cultures animals foods and more, Creature Daphne Greengrass, Creature Draco Malfoy, Creature Fic, Creature Harry Potter, Creature Lucius Malfoy, Creature Narcissa Malfoy, Creature Severus Snape, Creature Tom Riddle, Dueling practice, Durmstrang Student Daphne Greengrass, Durmstrang Student Draco Malfoy, Durmstrang Student Harry Potter, Evil Dumbledore, F/M, Hermione Granger Bashing, Hogwarts, Implied Sexual Content, Kidnapping, Kissing, M/M, Magical Bond, Magical Theory (Harry Potter), Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Mates, Mind Manipulation, Minor Character Death, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures, No Horcruxes, Now with hand drawn maps, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Potions, Remus Lupin Bashing, Sirius Black Bashing, Soulmates, Tags Contain Spoilers, The magical equivalent of drugging someone, Triwizard Tournament, Weasley Bashing, Werewolf Remus Lupin, Work adopted with permission from original author Slash_bae, at some point, do not copy to another site, original character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:07:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 34
Words: 26,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26286964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M1dn1ght_Star/pseuds/M1dn1ght_Star
Summary: Severus Snape gazed at the orange and yellow hues of the crackling fire in front of him, eyes unfocused and distant. Lucius sat beside him on the couch, an arm around the man he considered to be family. Both had tired faces, with red-rimmed eyes from tears. In a chair across the room, Narcissa cried too, holding tightly to her own son, young Draco, who was upset at his mother’s tears, trying to comfort her with a small hand on her cheek and head tucked tightly at her shoulder. The day had been a terrible one, the destruction of everything he loved. His son, Alexei, had been taken from him, stolen from his bed, only weeks before he was due to begin Hogwarts. The only remainder of his darling Katarina, his wife and mate, who had been murdered many years before, when Alexei was only an infant, gone. His only consolation was that he himself remained alive, as his mate was dead, he only lived for his child, so if Alexei died, so too would Severus.Formerly titled Recollections of Change!A/N: So the summary sounds really depressing but its not actually once you get past the first few chapters :)
Relationships: Daphne Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Severus Snape/Original Female Character(s), Viktor Krum/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 96
Kudos: 390





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Memories Of Change](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4969867) by [Slash_bae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slash_bae/pseuds/Slash_bae). 



> Here we go! This work will not have any more chapters posted until it is complete, at least that is my intention. If plans change, I'll let my readers know. :)
> 
> Edit: yes I changed my mind and I'm posting the chapters as I write
> 
> Adoption of The Memories of Change by Slash_bae

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have permission from Slash_bae to adopt and rewrite/continue their story.

Severus Snape gazed at the orange and yellow hues of the crackling fire in front of him, eyes unfocused and distant. Lucius sat beside him on the couch, an arm around the man he considered to be family. Both had tired faces, with red-rimmed eyes from tears. In a chair across the room, Narcissa cried too, holding tightly to her own son, young Draco, who was upset at his mother’s tears, trying to comfort her with a small hand on her cheek and head tucked tightly at her shoulder. The day had been a terrible one, the destruction of everything he loved. His son, Alexei, had been taken from him, stolen from his bed, only weeks before he was due to begin Hogwarts. The only remainder of his darling Katarina, his wife and mate, who had been murdered many years before, when Alexei was only an infant, gone. His only consolation was that he himself remained alive, as his mate was dead, he only lived for his child, so if Alexei died, so too would Severus.

A shudder wracked his body as he thought of how he’d gone into his son’s room that morning, only to find disaster and broken shards of furniture, and an empty bed, what remained of it. Memories swamped his exhausted mind from all sides and his Occlumency barrier was thoroughly weakened from the day’s events, giving way and he was swept away in the tide. The last thing he saw before his head slumped and his consciousness retreated into his mind was a worried Narcissa rushing towards him.

***

A beaming Alexei tugged happily on his father’s hand as they made their way down the elegant street in Russia. They were in a magical town warded strongly against the mundane and the atmosphere was very enjoyable. It was in Russia that Katarina, his late wife, had been born, and Severus made sure to teach his son about the culture and bring him on visits there. Alexei was excited at the prospect of finally going to the castle of Hogwarts, a place he had heard much about from his father, Aunty Cissa and Uncle Luc. Severus watched his son fondly, reminding him softly to remember his composure, but not stamping out the cheer entirely. Alexei was still young and as such, lapses in manners and public persona were generally forgiven and allowed.

They turned down a road that was lined with clothes shops and bookstores, with a potions store at the end. Hand in hand as they were, the two made a striking pair, similar in features and dress with dark, simple but expensive robes and composed, graceful walks. Alexei looked to him for permission before darting into the bookshop to collect a theoretical potion book he’d been seeking for months. Severus waited patiently for him before the two visited the potion store, collecting an order of ingredients that were illegal to buy in Britain but not illegal to use.

Another Severus gazed quietly at the memory before it ended and he was flung into the next, still unable to break free from the tide of forceful remembrance he was held prisoner in. The wave was unrelenting in its power, not giving at all to his attempts at diving through and escaping the flow.

***

A slightly younger Alexei ran past now, disheveled and laughing. He was outside in the gardens of their home, the manor Severus had inherited from his maternal grandfather, the family of Prince that he had been misled to believe he had been disowned from until the death of his grandparents. A younger Severus followed Alexei in playful pursuit, wearing casual clothes that were smeared with dirt and goodness knows what else. 

The two chased each other around in a highly-competitive game of tag, usual composed behavior in public discarded and nowhere to be seen as they relaxed and enjoyed the warm afternoon sunshine and fresh air. Alexei was currently taking a break from his studies, the work assigned to him by Narcissa and Severus’s combined lesson plans they had created for their children to prepare them for Hogwarts and the magical world.

“ It is time to return to your lessons, little shchenok.” Severus called fondly, reaching out to take his son’s hand. They needed to go change clothes and clean up so they wouldn’t make a mess in the house. The manor only had one house elf, a female one who was getting on in age, so Severus tried to make sure she had a manageable amount to do.

***

Alexei was curled up on the green armchair by the fire, reading a book. The boy, who was just now turning 6, had elected to complete his assignments that evening so he would be free to enjoy Yule without responsibilities. Severus watched him quietly from the shadows, intending on making him go to bed if it got much later. He shifted quietly, careful not to make noise as he didn’t want to alert his son to his presence. However, this didn’t work as Alexei turned to gaze straight at him, sleepy eyes suddenly alert. 

“Father, the book is inconsistent in its mentions of the ingredient’s properties, it contradicts itself within the second passage of chapter five. What would the correct answer be?” He called, shocking Severus who moved into the light to gaze at the page over his son’s shoulder. 

“Ah, an error that is often made by amateur herbologists. Good job on catching that, the correct answer is not paralysis, but instead a sedative.” He said, inwardly surprised that Alexei had caught him. Katarina would be proud her child had inherited her spy instincts…

Severus struggled to vocalize how proud he was of his son often, but Alexei seemed to understand his intent nonetheless, something he was glad of. Raising a child on his own, though with the help and care of Lucius and Narcissa, was not a thing he thought himself great at.

***

The flow of memories had slowed somewhat, but Severus was still trapped within the rushing course of the echoes.

“Father? Where’s Mum?” A youthful Severus Snape flinched unintentionally as he recalled the last time he saw his lovely Katarina before her death slid into mind, evading his mental shields to batter at his mind. 

“Mum was taken away from us because of a bad man, but we’ll see her again far in the future, and I know she misses you so much and always loves you.” Alexei’s tiny features crumpled, tears appearing. Though he couldn’t entirely comprehend his mother’s loss, her absence was simple enough for the toddler to register. Severus moved closer, tucking his son’s blanket around him and stroking his soft hair, humming a tune his own mother had sung him to sleep with. 

***

Severus was pulled then to his memories of the Dark Lord, who held his true allegiance, despite whatever Dumbledore might think. He had served him faithfully as Potion Master and spy for years. Though a few of his methods were a bit violent to some people, the Dark Lord’s view for the wizarding world could only help it.

He walked down the hallway of Slytherin Manor, small bundle of blankets in his arms. The Dark Lord waited for him in the parlor, elegant and powerful as always. His eyes fixed on the small child, gaze almost unusually expressive.

“My Lord” Severus praised, bowing slightly, as only the most trusted could do.

“Severus” Lord Slytherin greeted him, nodding in response to one of his inner circle. “Your son, he is a carrier? My mate will someday bear me an heir?”

“Yes, my Lord.” Shifting his son carefully in his arms, Severus tilted Alexei's head so the silver lettering on his tiny kitten ear could be seen. The writing marked his son as the Dark Lord’s future mate, a submissive Neko. While both dominant and submissives had writing, gold was the norm for mates, while silver marked one as a male carrier. 

Lord Slytherin smiled almost softly. “I cannot wait until he will be mine.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably post a few more chapters before we really get into the plot as that is the bit that will need the most editing and reworking

In a tiny, dark bedroom in the middle of the most average, boring neighborhood in Surrey that could possibly be imagined, a young boy groaned as he came slowly back to consciousness. Alexei’s eyes opened slowly, a headache pounded furiously in his head like a herd of griffins had trampled over him. He shot upright, clutching his head as his vision almost blacked out from the sudden movement, and panic rose swiftly within him. The unfamiliar surroundings were definitely not a good sign. The last thing he could remember was going to bed as normal…

Alexei quickly checked to make sure his glamour that protected his creature features from being seen was still active and was relieved to find it was fine. Somewhat concerningly, another layer had even been placed over it with an unfamiliar magical signature, reinforcing it to the point he wouldn’t be able to take his own off easily. He frowned as a glance in the mirror showed the face staring back at him was not his own. What had happened to him and where was he?

***

A tired Harry Potter rose quickly, avoiding the foot aimed his way as he scurried out of his cupboard. He hurried to make breakfast for the Dursleys, managing not to burn anything and sighed in relief. Hopefully, they would let him ride in the car to the train station then. He’d not been allowed near his school supplies to Hogwarts since going shopping with Hagrid, and Vernon threw them into the back of the car before tossing Harry in the side door much the same way.

What Harry Potter didn’t know, or rather remember, was that he was not truly Harry James Potter, no, he was Alexei. His true mind had been locked up in the corner of his head, silenced and powerless, unable to have control over his body. The Dursleys had gone a bit overboard on Dumbledore’s instructions to make sure the boy knew his place and Vernon had killed him a few months ago. Quite a mess, really, it had taken a lot of work to clean it up. But Dumbledore still needed a Chosen One to display to the public and Hogwarts, so a fake had to be used. A few false memories implanted and some nice compulsions to inspire hatred against his true father and friends, and Harry Potter was ready to go to Hogwarts.


	3. Chapter Three

After a stressful few hours, Harry managed to find Platform 9 and ¾. He’d followed a loud family of redheads after overhearing them mention the word muggles, one Hagrid had used when he took Harry shopping. He was excited to get away from his relatives and hoped to finally make friends at school, instead of being an outcast because of his cousin Dudley. He managed to get his trunk on the train with not a small amount of effort, as he was underweight and weak from the starvation and beatings his family had given him for a parting gift. An empty compartment was right near the doors he went in thankfully and Harry slumped down on one of the seats, staring in fascination out the window at the magical chaos occurring on the platform.

His compartment was not empty for long as one of the redheads from the family he’d followed poked his head around the room. “Hey, can I sit here? All the other compartments are full.” The boy said, lying through his teeth, not that Harry realized under all the spells on him.

“Of course, come in!” Harry said, trying to seem cool. He wanted to make friends.

“I’m Ron, Ron Weasley.” The boy said. Deep inside himself, Harry felt a prickling sort of warning feeling, but disregarded it in favor of trying to be friends with Ron.

“Harry Potter.” He replied, waving awkwardly. The boy’s eyes got big in a way that was just a bit too wide to be real and his mouth hung open in a very unflattering way. 

Ron proceeded to rudely ask him about his scar and really Harry would’ve been halfway across the train if he wasn’t drugged up to the eyeballs. As it was, a conveniently strong compulsion led to him spending the rest of his money on candy that the other ate and stuffed into his pockets, leaving nothing for Harry. Ron then went on and on about something called Quidditch and some cannons for at least an hour until the compartment door was slammed open loudly.

A girl with bushy hair and a haughty expression stood in the doorway. She looked down her nose at them and said, “Have you seen a toad?” in a demanding manner. Harry shook his head, looking shyly at her. Ron made a face at her and told her to go away, winking in a way he thought looked attractive when Harry wasn’t looking, to which she gave a nod and a smirk. She departed the compartment after telling them her name and that they should get changed into their robes, smug that their assignments from the headmaster had been going so well. Maybe he’d give her another banned book as a reward.

***

The first year students filed into the hall, looking around in awe. From somewhere near the front, Harry could hear Hermione, the girl from earlier, muttering something about the ceiling and a book. Harry thought she must be really smart though she was pretty rude, while deep inside Alexei shuddered at her horrible attitude. She was sorted into Gryffindor, then the Malfoy from Diagon alley, the train, and the hall got sorted into Slytherin. Harry knew out of the two, he’d rather have to be around.

After a few more names were called, it was his turn, and the hall hushed in anticipation, making Harry even more nervous. He sat down on the stool and the hat was placed on his head by Professor McGonagall. The sorting hat seemed like it was considering Slytherin and Harry frantically tried to convince it to put him in Gryffindor or at least anywhere else. Alexei whacked his head into the wall of his inner prison repeatedly, trying to knock himself out so he didn’t have to watch this. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful and had to watch as his body was placed in Gryffindor and he sat down next to Ron, promptly got sprayed by bread crumbs as the boy turned to talk to him, and then was kicked by Hermione when he wasn’t paying attention to her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like its been forever since I've posted anything for some reason...
> 
> Anyways, here you go :)  
> Wednesday update

Harry trailed behind Ron as he talked with two of his many brothers, twins who liked pranks and practical jokes. Deep inside him, Alexei was curled up, thinking sadly about his father who looked so broken and upset behind his masks. The twins were asking Ron about their first Potion lesson, and he was rambling on about how bad of a teacher Snape was and that he’d seemed unhappy.

The youngest redhead looked oddly happy to be saying this, unusual for a student only having had one class with the man. Many came to dislike him over their years at Hogwarts but rarely did anyone, even Gryffindors, seem so pleased about the man’s unhappiness. Harry hadn’t liked him much, but Snape had personally singled him out to humiliate, so you couldn’t really fault him.

Some of the older students at the Gryffindor table were also talking about the strange change that their Potions professor had gone through over the summer and many seemed almost concerned. He was snappish, even with the Slytherins, and had almost taken points from his own house before catching himself. The one student who seemed to have been spared his wrath was Draco Malfoy, a name that evoked a strange feeling in Harry. He hadn’t really interacted with the boy, but Ron had told him all sorts of stories about how evil he and his family were.

***

Later, Harry was making his way slowly down one of the corridors, deep in thought. He was alone for once, as Hermione had vanished to the library and Ron had wanted to play Wizard's Chess with one of the older students. The fact that there was food in the Common Room certainly had nothing to do with his choice either.

His gaze was on the stones of the floor as he walked and so he didn’t spot Professor Snape until he collided with him, almost falling backwards before steadying himself by grabbing hold of the man’s arm. Harry got an odd feeling, almost like deja-vu, and couldn’t bring himself to move away until Snape cleared his throat pointedly and pushed him off his arm.

“Mr. Potter, I suggest you move before you lose your house a large number of points and gain yourself a good amount of detentions.” He said slowly, enunciating his words as if restraining himself. Snape’s gaze was cold and his eyes frosty. Harry swallowed and backed away from the professor, mumbling an apology as he tried to go around Snape. 

“Missing your family, are you? I’m sure a spoiled child like you thinks he can do whatever he wishes without consequences, well I’m happy to inform you that you are, in fact, wrong.” Professor Snape said contemptuously.

Harry felt anger rise in him at the thought of the reality of his home life. “Spoiled? I have a family that hates me! I’m sure you don’t even have a family, so you’re one to talk. No one would ever love you enough to stay with you!”

He expected Snape to take points, yell at him, maybe even hit him, but there was nothing only silence. Harry turned back to see if the man had left the corridor and hadn’t head him, but no, he was there. The man was pale, extremely so, and he looked as if he’d just been slapped. Snape stood there unmoving for a moment and then something sparked in his eyes, something furious and broken.

“No one loves me, do they Potter? I’ll have you know I have a family, but they have been  _ taken from me _ . Imagine having someone and they are taken from you, that’s worse than never having anyone.” Then he swept away, seething. Bitingly, he snarled out,“50 points from Gryffindor,” as he left. Harry remained in the empty hallway, staring blankly where his professor had been before, for much longer than he’d like to admit. Eventually, he managed to move his feet back along where he’d originally been headed. He never told anyone about what happened.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm just publishing as I rewrite so far, but as I continue, I may change the formating and rearrange/add chapters so don't get too attached to these current ones. They are quite likely temporary versions.

It was soon time for the first lesson of his Charms class, one Harry was looking forward to. The teacher sounded nice enough and from what Harry knew about the subject, it sounded like an interesting one and fun. Not necessarily always useful, but learning how to make fruit dance was something he’d like to try. Professor Flitwick was short, very short really, and had to stand on a teetering stack of textbooks to be able to see over his desk. He’d promptly tumbled over said stack after reading Harry’s name in the attendance, which made Harry frown and look down at the table in front of him. Was it too much to ask for to be treated normally for once?

After managing to make it through the rest of attendance, Flitwick started class with a lesson about levitating objects. They would be trying to make feathers float, which curbed Harry’s enthusiasm for the class significantly and he sighed inwardly, glancing at Hermione from where she was eagerly answering all the questions without being called on and acting like a know-it-all. That was not going to make her any friends, not that she seemed to care.

The classroom was soon filled with the mumbling of many students as absolutely everyone repeatedly tried and failed to make their feathers levitate. Some just looked tired, while others were getting frustrated, and Ron was glaring at his and using a bit more force that was needed with his wand movement.

Harry glanced around the room, taking a break from trying to make his feather fly, and locked eyes with Draco Malfoy from across the aisle. They shared a long suffering look, though both seemed startled at this after the fact. Draco’s face did something odd before he turned away, focusing on his feather again and attempting the incantation, unfortunately unsuccessfully, again.

Ron hit the table angrily and startled Harry, causing him to flinch away. His friend was acting a bit childishly, but Harry was frustrated too. Hermione, of course, caught sight of his annoyed poking at the feather and looked smugly at him.

“You’re doing it wrong.” She informed him, looking down her nose at the redhead. “This is how you should do it.” With an exaggerated incantation, she swished her wand and the feather in front of her shot up into the air, though a bit shakily. Ron wasn’t pleased and chose to ignore Hermione for the rest of class, muttering under his breath. 

On Harry’s other side, a boy who he thought was called Finn or something like that, no maybe Sean? Eh, he wasn’t sure. Anyways, the boy managed to catch his feather on fire and burn his eyebrows off, narrowly missing the girl’s hair who sat next to him.

By the end of the class period, Hermione and a Slytherin boy were the only two who managed to float their feathers, but Flitwick seemed unperturbed, announcing they would continue working on this next week. He also assigned them a foot of parchment over other variations of the levitation charm.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm alive, hehe  
> I know I'm still posting often enough but it feels like not at all after DoYR lol.
> 
> Enjoy <3

Harry was walking down the hallway with Ron, the pyro boy whose name turned out to be Seamus, and Dean. Ron was complaining about Hermione and the others were just nodding along, not really paying attention to what he was saying, when suddenly there was a loud sniff from behind them and Hermione barged past, knocking into Ron roughly with her shoulder.

He felt a bit of sympathy for the girl because of his own lonely upbringing at the Dursleys, but ultimately forgot about her until noticing she was missing at dinner and had apparently been crying in the bathroom all day. Honestly, she was a bit pathetic, it was her fault she didn’t have any friends because of being rude and acting like a know-it-all. Then the troll was announced and he realized Hermione didn’t know about it.

Looking around, he didn’t see any teachers so, dragging Ron along with him, Harry snuck away from the rest of their classmates and through the school to the bathrooms where Hermione was hiding. Despite what Professor Quirrel had said, the troll was very clearly not in the dungeons, as it was right in front of them, smashing sinks with a rough wooden club.

The two tried to distract the troll by throwing bits and pieces of the destroyed bathroom at it, which didn’t do much but make it angrier though it did turn towards the boys, allowing Hermione to crawl out from under the sink and run towards the door. During this time, Ron had somehow managed to climb up the trolls back and was now looking nauseous with his wand stuck in the troll’s left nostril. Inwardly, Harry snickered a bit but now was not the time to be amused when his and other lives were still in danger.

Remembering a spell from class, Harry cast and levitated the troll’s club which it had dropped in favor of trying to get hold of Ron, who was hanging from the back of its neck. With a sickening thunk, it fell, narrowing missing the redhead, and the troll slumped forwards onto the floor with an audible smack. 

Wrinkling his nose as he just now registered the terrible smell, Harry backed away and went to go out the door to where Hermione was standing. Ron was standing up from where he’d been thrown to the floor as the troll fell.

All three whipped around to the doorway as footsteps sounded and Harry swallowed nervously, avoiding everyone’s eyes as the professors stormed into the room, furious until they caught sight of the troll.

Hermione spun a story about how she thought she could deal with the troll and went looking for it and Ron and Harry saved her. Harry grimaced deep inside, the last thing he wanted had apparently happened and now the girl thought they were friends with her. Lovely.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're at the end of year one now and things are about to heat up some more :)

After the events of Halloween, things settled down for a little while for the most part. Harry kept finding himself being pulled into a mystery about Nicholas Flamel and some magical stone that Ron insisted Snape was trying to steal. Harry highly doubted that but didn’t say anything, he didn’t want to jeopardize his first friendships over something like that. 

Christmas passed and he found himself in possession of an invisibility cloak, from an unknown source however he suspected it might be the Headmaster. He had discovered an empty room that held the mirror of Erised and his head had throbbed painfully as gazing into it was like a violent split in his mind. Harry saw two things at once, and felt instinctively that it wasn’t something to share with Dumbledore when he found him there by the mirror one evening. 

Things rushed together after that and then Harry somehow found himself wrapped up in a reckless attempt to stop someone, who Hermione and Ron vehemently thought to be Snape, from stealing the stone with Dumbledore out of the castle. Ron had gotten injured in one of the obstacles, a giant chess game that was very violent, and Hermione had quickly abandoned Harry in the room between the roaring flames in order to return to Weasley, who barely had a few scratches if he could remember correctly.

Harry looked at the tiny bottle in his hands and prayed to whatever was out there that Hermione hadn’t messed it up and the potion would help him get through the flames instead of killing him painfully or something. With a deep breath, he gulped down the foul tasting liquid, making a face at the horrible flavor, before striding quickly through the flames, eyes closed. Nothing seemed to happen and he didn’t feel like he was burning to death, so after a moment Harry opened his eyes and immediately froze. For in front of him was none other than Professor Quirrel.

***

The previous evening was a disordered mess deep inside Harry’s head. He had found Quirrel in the room with the mirror, only for him to recognize Alexei underneath the suffocating layers of magic concealing his true self from the world. He had sensed his mark on the other, a bond deeply connecting the pair that not even Dumbledore could manage to completely conceal. The only way for mates to have no sense of the other was if they had died and passed from the world completely.

Marvolo had looked in relief and sorrow at his submissive and held him for a moment in his gaze as if burning the sight into his memory before sighing and explaining that they must stage a fight in order to protect Alexei. If Dumbledore discovered Voldemort knew Harry Potter was no more, then his replacement would be placed in great danger of harm or death.

Alexei requested that he be pushed back into his own subconscious, as he couldn’t bear to hurt his mate, and Marvolo did so gently, caressing his mate’s mind gently with his magic before releasing it reluctantly and retreating from the other.

Carefully, Voldemort engaged the other in a fight, making sure that Quirrel was injured to the point of death while Alexei only gained superficial injuries. His spirit vanished through the castle, deep in thought of where the real Potter was that Dumbledore needed to force a false to take his place.

An exhausted Harry slumped to the floor, losing consciousness swiftly, where he was found by Dumbledore and his outer memories invaded before being taken to receive medical care in the Hospital Wing.

The Headmaster was pleased to see his plan seemed to be working and smiled to himself, proud that he had managed to deceive Voldemort into believing his prophesied nemesis was perfectly well and fine. He idly flicked another compulsion Harry’s way to make him brush off the encounter with Voldemort and focus on his ‘friends’ Hermione and Ron instead. Perfect, now he just had to finalize some paperwork and he could spend a restful evening in his rooms.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to me! And hope you enjoy this chapter <3

Harry stared blankly at the wall, focusing on the buzzing of a fly he could hear somewhere by the ceiling. He was slightly better off than he had been before his first year, as the Dursleys had been too afraid to put him back in the cupboard for worry that someone would find out they weren’t  _ normal _ , but the room was dusty and full of Dudley’s broken toys. He was also now trapped in there for the most part, fed through a cat flap that had been installed on the door beneath the many locks, and his school things and pretty much everything he owned had been locked in the cupboard under the stairs. Thankfully, Hedwig was alright and had been able to fly away before the Dursleys could get their hands on her, though she’d stayed nearby as he’d managed to catch glimpses of her through the bars on his window occasionally.

A pressure that had been sitting uneasily in his mind since the fight with Quirrelmort surged up suddenly to a constant bombardment of his head. He sank down on the ratty mattress and clutched at his head for a second, overwhelmed by a rush of magic before his eyes flashed and Alexei Snape stared out at the world, immediately alert and on guard. He was full of anger as well, but restrained this in favor of being able to think logically and possible escape. Unfortunately, this was not to be, as the monitor Dumbledore had placed on him in case this scenario played out rung in the Headmaster’s ear and he flashed into the house.

Alexei leapt up, backing away with his hands futilely out as if to shield himself. Dumbledore looked in a disappointed manner at him before triggering some sort of ward on the room that froze the boy where he stood. He wove some extra compulsions and tied another glamour in just in case as he restored the mind block which forced Alexei back into the depths of his mind, a prisoner in his own self. The headmaster smiled and patted Harry Potter on the head before leaving with a barely audible crack, off to visit the Weasley matriarch and let her know to tell the others Harry wasn’t able to answer any owls that summer as he was on vacation. He couldn’t let them try to rescue the boy before he needed to retrieve him, no, that wouldn’t do at all.

***

A greatly reluctant Severus Snape found himself on the doorstep of #4 Privet Drive, sneering at the tacky decorations on the porch as he waited for Petunia to open the door. She hadn’t changed at all from his childhood, still looked like a horse and had the temperament of a nasty wasp. He shouldn’t have had to do this, it was McGonagall’s job to take Potter to Diagon, but no, she was somehow unavailable so it fell to him. It didn’t matter that he’d been working on an extremely complicated potion that took months to restart from the point he was on at the moment and placing it stasis would have a negative effect on it if left too long. No, the Boy who Lived needed something, so everyone else just had to drop anything they were doing to cater to his every whim. Just like his spoiled bully of a father.

He shoved his way past Petunia and strode up the stairs to where a door that seemed normal opened to reveal a boy in the doorway of a room that also seemed glamorous and the place where a spoiled, arrogant brat would live, concealing the disturbing reality underneath. Harry was also lightly glamoured to hide the most obvious signs of abuse, as Severus would recognize them too easily despite his blindness caused by the boy’s father.

The trip to buy school supplies thankfully took only a couple of hours and Harry was heading quietly to the shop that sold cauldrons, since Neville accidentally exploded his old one, when he almost ran into Lucius Malfoy who had come up alongside him and Snape.

The blonde man called out loudly to Snape and said, “Severus, there has been news on Alexei.” 

Snape’s head snapped around to look at him, his usual annoyed face nowhere to be seen as he looked absolutely open and devastated with a hint of hope. Whoever this Alexei was he was obviously important, to get such a reaction. Harry wondered briefly if this had to do with what his professor had said that one time about his family.

“I found his magic signature in Surrey, but it was glamoured, like it broke through and then got masked again.” Lucius continued, leaning closer to Severus and placing a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Sighing, a dim smile crossed his face. “At least we know he’s in England not Italy.” 

Snape nodded curtly, frown firmly on his face again, and strode off with a short farewell, robes swirling behind him. Harry hurried to try and keep up, almost tripping on the frayed laces of his cousin’s broken trainers. When Harry glanced back, he saw the Malfoys and Weasleys having a fight before he was pulled away by a charm from an annoyed-looking Snape.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was writing this chapter, I was confused as there are no horcruxes and I didn't want Harry to be a Speaker because of being related to Marvolo, so instead I chose to make it that he was gifted it by his mate magically when young. What do you think of Abhashui? Her name means glorious waters

After a painful summer, in more than one way, Harry was relieved to be back on the Hogwart Express, safely away from his relatives and in the company of his, well, he was upset with them at the moment, so not friends. Neither of them are sent some much as a birthday wish despite their promises at the end of the previous term to exchange letters.

He was currently ignoring both Hermione and Ron, who were sitting across from him in their compartment. Ron had greeted him casually and didn’t seem to think he’d done anything wrong, acting like he had no idea why Harry was upset and muttering insulting comments about him to Hermione while Harry stared out the window silently in annoyance.

At least Hermione had apologized, though it didn’t really seem that sincere as she had used the excuse of being on vacation but he knew that she’d only been traveling for two weeks and there was a lot more time with no reason not to owl him. Conversation was stilted for the rest of the train ride and Harry was mostly quiet, still sore from the toss around his uncle had given him as a goodbye present.

***

Harry of course had even more trouble heading his way, starting with the garishly dressed person he ran into accidentally the first day back at Hogwarts. The man had looked disgusted at him until he realized who Harry was and then a fake smile spread rapidly across his face and he started chattering endlessly about being a celebrity and fame while Harry didn’t listen to a single word and instead looked around for an escape. Unfortunately, no one was in sight to help him, so he had to endure the conversation and also the uncomfortable presence of Lockhart’s hand on his shoulder until they arrived at the Great Hall, where Harry fled as rapidly as possible without being obvious.

Hermione was going on and on about the man throughout the entire meal and how amazing he was and Ron seemed torn between jealousy and derision to direct at Harry. Well, too bad for him Harry didn’t care. He was still upset at the two for their treatment of him that summer and pointedly ignored them every time they tried to initiate conversation until they gave up and started ignoring him back.

Harry found himself spending more time outside, enjoying the peace and quiet under a tree by the lake. He’d discovered a sheltered spot where he could have some time to himself and often escaped there when other students got too bothering for him. There was this one first year that kept following him around and taking pictures, it was kind of creepy and Harry tried to avoid him as much as possible.

One such day as he was enjoyed the soft breeze rustling the leaves of the tree he was sitting under, Harry heard a faint voice from nearby.

{ How dare you disturb my hunting grounds, leave at once before I bite you }

{Huh? What? Who’s there?} He responded, not realizing he was speaking an entirely different language. Looking around, he spotted a small, beautifully patterned snake staring dangerously at him from the ground.

{You can speak?} If snakes could look shocked, this one definitely did.

{Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be able to speak? But, wait, you know English?} Harry said, bewildered, still not realizing that he was in fact speaking parseltongue. His mate had done a ritual with Alexei when he was young to give him the gift of snake speech, but his memories of this were quite forcefully repressed by Dumbledore.

{English?} The snake laughed in a hissing sort of way. {No, hatchling, you are speaking the tongue of serpents.}

{Oh. Okay I guess.} After everything magic had shown him so far, Harry thought that it must be pretty common for something like this to happen, so shrugged and accepted it. Looking a bit closer at the snake, he realized it seemed like it wasn’t fully grown yet.

{I am Harry, what is your name?} He inquired, watching the snake carefully as he wasn’t quite sure it was friendly.

{Abhashui, my hatch mother gave it to me before she was killed by hunters. I am female.} The snake responded, sliding closer as if it was curious and propping its head on his foot.

{Er, what species are you?} Harry asked, interested as Abhashui had different coloring than he’d ever heard of. She had blue eyes the shade of the sky and gleaming orange scales from her tail upwards to where they faded into a soft teal color around her neck and covered her head in green and blue shades.

{I’m a magical hybrid without a proper name, between the mundane Boiga Cyanea and the magical venomous water snake. My scales will blend into one another downwards from the head and turn all blue-green when I reach my eighth year to make me nearly invisible in foliage and water. My venom would have been barely existent if I were only a Boiga, but with my hybrid parentage, it is strong enough to kill} she hissed in a proud sort of manner.

Harry regarded Abhashui curiously and a thought came to mind. {Would you like to be my friend? I can sneak you into the castle and make sure you are well-fed. You have to promise not to kill anyone without permission though, I’d get in trouble and they would take you away.} He offered.

She contemplated it seriously for a moment and gazed around at her current lackluster home. {All right, but I want juicy mice and a warm place to sleep.} She agreed.

A few moments later, Harry’s arm was the proud recipient of a sleepy snake, lulled to sleep by his warm body under his coat.With her current size, she appeared almost like a piece of jewelry decorating his wrist. She was partially nocturnal so had explained she would do that until she was needed for something by him or wanted to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, this is the rough version which will later undergo editing and some more writing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Harry is kinda oblivious and actually hates Quidditch lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters in two days? You bet!

Harry was seriously beginning to think that Halloween was cursed to go horribly wrong. The feast had been alright, though the number of sweets largely outnumbered any actual food and he was still hungry. He’d escaped as soon as possible and left Hermione and Ron behind. They were not quite friends again and so he didn’t really want to spend unneeded time with them. He had been reading a book while leaning against a wall, with the occasional comment to Abhashui, who had requested to go by Shui for short. 

A sudden series of noises accompanied by Shui’s sudden panic and cryptic warning about spiders fleeing from a king led to him looking up and doing a double take. He hadn’t noticed before, but only a little way along the wall from the small cavity he’d been in was ominously gleaming words on the wall in a dark crimson color. There was water on the floor and a slimy trail that vanished randomly at one end of the corridor.

Above the red words that spelled out a mysterious message about a chamber of secrets, he spotted something furry hanging from a torch holder. Harry blinked and realized this looked a lot like some sort of magical crime scene and quickly vacated the area, hearing distant voices as he hurried back to the common room ahead of the rest of the students leaving the Great Hall. 

He attempted to question Shui about her words but the snake simply curled up on his wrist and went to sleep, refusing to respond to him. What a lazy snake he had befriended. Well, she was onto something, he supposed, it had been a long day and he was tired too. With this in mind, he also went to bed as soon as he entered the Gryffindor dorms.

***

The strange attacks continued after Halloween and several students were now in the Hospital Wing, petrified. At first, all the victims were muggleborn and several Pureblood students made vulgar remarks about them and didn’t seem too worried about anything happening to them. The students had heard from Professor Binns, who was useful for once, about the Chamber of Secrets and Slytherin’s monster. Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hermione Granger. They were first, along with a ghost that made people even more worried because anything that could hurt a ghost, who was already dead and a pureblood, was not really something they wanted to encounter.

Dumbledore didn’t seem to have been trying to even do anything about the situation and was content to sit back and let the attacks happen while accusations were tossed around, quite a few at Harry even, though he didn’t know why, as Shui had instructed him not to tell others he could speak Parseltongue, so no-one knew about that or his snake familiar. Hagrid was also carted off to Azkaban for some reason, apparently he was thought to be behind attacks last time this chamber had been opened, but Harry couldn’t really see that.

Then everything changed. Penelope Clearwater, a halfblood who really was a pureblood if you didn’t consider the ‘official’ blood status rules, was petrified. Now all the students, even those who had thought themselves immune or whatever before, were suddenly terrified and no one wanted to go anywhere alone, despite the fact that being in a group would do nothing to help anyways. Quidditch was canceled, not that Harry really cared all that much. Despite somehow being made to play on the Gryffindor team since first year, he didn’t really like the game and thought it was too dangerous to be worth it.

Harry actually thought his second year was going pretty well, all things considered. If you didn’t count the whole monster in the school thing, he was having a good time. He had a new snake friend, Ron and Hermione weren’t bothering him anymore, Snape wasn’t too mean to him, and he was fairly prepared for the end of year exams.

He took back that second to last thing swiftly when he received a detention for breathing too loudly the next day in Potions, and Snape seemed to hate him again, constantly glaring at him and taking points for ridiculous things. Honestly. You’d think the man was reminded of some horrible experience every time he saw him. Harry had managed to completely forget about his odd interaction with Snape in his first year, so this didn’t occur to him as possibly being related. It really was strange how the man hated him so much for no reason…


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, you readers finally get a tiny bit of your agitation soothed 
> 
> at least, I hope so...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where things really start going off the rails from the original storyline that the OG author came up with.
> 
> Exibit A: Sev figured it out an entire year early lol bc I didn't like the original scene and then my brain was like, he smort tho, he'd figure it out but what if he couldn't really do anything about it yet bc he doesn't know exactly what is under and if it is 100% sure Alexei so. :)

Walking as slowly as possible as he could without being late for his detention, Harry fiddled with a quill he was holding as he approached the door of Snape’s office. Reaching up hesitantly, he knocked and stepped back.

  
After a moment, there was a muffled order to come in, so he did, biting his lip nervously. Whatever he had expected to see, more along the lines of torture devices and random animal skeletons or something like Ron was always going on about, was not what he found himself face to face with. Instead, there was a small but cozy room in light shades of cream and brown, with a fireplace tucked in one corner and not a single jar of potions ingredients in sight.

  
Professor Snape was sitting at his desk with an unreadable expression on his face, holding a black quill in one hand and essays in the other. “Your so-called detention will not be an evening of scrubbing cauldrons as you most likely expected.” He said in a low voice, gazing at Harry like he was a fascinating puzzle to solve.  
“Before I get started, please be aware the Headmaster is not going to be told about this.” Snape said. Such a thing would be something he would never do willingly, not even with Potter’s spawn as he didn’t trust Dumbledore within 50 feet of a young creature unaware of their inheritance. The man’s attempt to bind his own when he was a student only served a further proof.

  
“I found a certain paper you left in my classroom the other day, tucked inside a library book. You seemed concerned about some things and I feel the need to ask if these were changes you were personally experiencing. These would be changes in your hearing and vision and some irritation around the ears. Along with some discomfort and aching at your tailbone and morphing body type unusual for a teenage boy…” Snape fixed Harry with an expectant look, who was now bright red in embarrassment, eyes wide. He couldn’t believe the Potions professor had found that paper he was using to try and research what was happening to his body. At least he wasn’t humiliating him publicly with it.

  
Snape seemed to be waiting for something and Harry realized he wanted to know if the list had been things occurring to him. He cleared his throat awkwardly and mumbled, “Umm, yes sir. They were.”  
Snape had a frown firmly set on his face now and seemed to be holding the quill a bit too tightly. “That...sounds like you are going to come into a creature inheritance at some point.” There wasn’t any creature blood in the Potter line that he was aware of, so it was very odd that the boy was going through symptoms for an inheritance, a submissive neko even! It was very odd, it was almost as if…

  
Knowing that was something to think of later when he didn’t have an expectant student staring at him, Snape pushed that thought behind an occlumency barrier and turned his attention back to the boy.  
“Tell no one else about this and forget about it for now. You will be fine to just finish off the year without worrying about anything happening.” He said slowly, making sure the brat understood he meant every word. “Now, you may leave. I don’t want to see you again outside of class for any detentions for at least a month, understand?”  
Waiting until Potter left the room and closed the door firmly behind him, triggering the wards to flare back up, Severus let his shoulders slump and show the exhaustion he felt. Placing his head on his arms which were folded on top of the desk, he thought through what he had shoved back a minute before.

  
Submissive neko… twelve years old… dark hair… the snake bracelet around his arm that was just a bit too realistic to be jewelry… Severus sat bolt upright, anger and shock filling him. Could it be?  
He jumped out of his chair and paced around the room, thoughts whirling. If Harry Potter was actually his son, then where was Harry Potter? And if it was ‘Harry Potter’ who was his son, then Dumbledore must’ve been involved in taking his son. He needed to tell Lucius and Narcissa as soon as possible and of course the Dark Lord too. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to get out of the castle without making the Headmaster suspicious until the summer. At least he could try to keep an eye on the boy for the rest of the year and hopefully prevent him from getting entangled in any more trouble than he already was.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I powered through a headache to finish the last few parts of this chapter and deliver you this update, so hope you enjoy.
> 
> Have a good day and hope you are well! <3

Harry descended the stairs from the 2nd year boys dorm and was surprised to find the Gryffindor common room full of students both sitting and standing, with a strained feel to the air. He was planning to go outside and spend some time by the lake with his snake friend before his detention (read: meeting) with Snape, but as he made his way towards the exit, everyone looked towards him. 

“What?” He asked irritably, wondering what rumors had been spread about him now. Everyone stared at him incredulously and there was a brief pause before one of the prefects cleared their throat and responded.

“You can’t leave, no one can.” They said in a loud voice, meant to carry across the room to where he was standing. 

A 3rd Year girl piped up “Why aren’t you with Ron? Ginny was taken by Slytherin’s heir into the Chamber of Secrets! Where are you going anyway!” There were some murmurs of agreement from around the room and other students contributed their own accusations and a few tried to defend him.

“I have a pass allowing me to leave from Professor Snape. I’m going to a meeting with him, and me and Ron aren’t even friends anymore! It’s regretful that Ginny was taken, this is the first I’ve heard of it, but I have other responsibilities.” There was a shocked silence at his outburst, before Harry stormed out, intent on finding out what was happening to him. Forget going out to the lake, he was headed straight for Snape’s office. Hopefully his professor wouldn’t be too upset with her for showing up early. It was probably a first to be honest, who else would be so eager to arrive for their detention.

***

After Snape told him what inheritance he believed Harry had, the two ended up talking late into the night and Snape insisted that Harry stay the night with Slytherin’s monster out loose in the school. He was exhausted anyways so didn’t try to argue with the man, simply nodding and going to sleep on the couch where Snape directed him. The Potions professor put an alarm on him and went to his own quarters to sleep, saying he would return in the morning.

The next day, Harry woke early, used to the routine of being forced awake long before the sun rose by his relatives. He used a couple hygiene charms that Neville had taught him this year to refresh himself and prepare for the day ahead. Harry had just finished straightening up the couch when Snape appeared in the doorway, looking the same as usual in his dark robes and grumpy face. It might have softened inperceptically when he saw Harry, but he would deny that until his dying days.

“Sir?” Harry asked tentatively “How did you know that I was a neko or even a creature?” Severus was thankful that he had anticipated this question and kept a firm hold on his occlumency barriers. He let out a tiny sigh and sat down on the couch across from Harry.

“My wife and son were nekos. My son was, is your age.” Snape shook his head to clear his mind, frowning at the slip. Especially now, with his Alexei unknowingly in front of him, he couldn’t believe that he had referred to his son in the past tense.

“Sir, what do you mean by were?” Harry asked quietly, looking nervous to question his professor in such a manner. Their relationship was no longer outright hostile, but it could not be said that it was entirely amicable at this point.

“Remember last year when I said my family was taken from me? I apologise for shouting but my son had just been taken mere months before. The pain was overwhelming.” Taking a deep breath, he let old memories loose. “Me and my wife discovered we were having a son, she was my mate, she was a neko. We discovered his mate, and they met. His mate was older than he was, but you cannot object to a soul bond like that of a neko mate. His mate had to leave and my wife was killed, leaving me alone with a baby to raise. My son, Alexei, grew up a fair and intelligent boy.” Summoning a picture of his son, he gave the one where Alexei had discovered his ears for the first time to Harry to look at.

“That was when his ears first developed, I raised him until he was 10. We bought his supplies and were preparing for him to begin his first year at Hogwarts. Someone broke into the house at night and took Alexei. Now he’s gone. Mr Malfoy is looking for my son because I have to work, but it hasn’t gone very well so far.” Stunned into quiet, Harry left Snape’s office and returned to the dormitory, passing through the common room of confused Gryffindors in a pensive silence as he went.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which nothing really happens but things are set up for the summer's events

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made a tumblr for you all! https://m1dn1ghtstar.tumblr.com/

The remaining few days of the school term passed by both agonizingly slowly and startling quickly for Harry and soon it was time for the end of term feast. Dumbledore waited until everyone was seated before making an announcement.

“Miss Ginny Weasley has been safely rescued from the Chamber.” He said, blue eyes twinkling as he gazed out over the students. Harry was seated at the very end of the Gryffindor table, having been deemed an outcast by the lion house, but he wasn’t too upset over it. After all, he had Professor Snape and Shui for company.

“Ginny Weasley is alive and well, having joined us once again for the final meal of the school year. The possessed item that was found with her has been removed from the school and you can rest safely in the knowledge Hogwarts is secure once more. Please make time to give your congratulations and thanks to our heroes the Weasley family. This is a great show of the power of love. Unfortunately Professor Lockhart will be continuing his adventures next year and will not be joining us. Enjoy your last meal at Hogwarts!” 

Harry barely kept the disdain off his face as Dumbledore’s eyes swept over the students, briefly landing on him before moving on. What a load of bullshit, Dumbledore was definitely covering up the actual story of what happened. Rolling his eyes in a Snape like manner, he continued eating his meal with the delicacy and manners of a Slytherin, which was not unnoticed by the green clad house or his fellow Lions.

He spent a quiet train ride alone in his compartment, using privacy spells Professor Snape had taught him one evening to ensure he was left alone and not interrupted. Thankfully, the long trip gave him just enough time to finish his summer assignments, as he would certainly not be able to do them once he got to his relatives. 

After storing everything inside his trunk, which was impossible for muggles to get into because of the charms that it automatically came with when he bought it, Harry slumped his shoulders and reluctantly went to where he saw a purple-faced Vernon glaring around at everything and everyone on the edge of the platform, resigned to the summer of abuse he was sure to be put through. Some days he wondered why the Dursleys hadn’t just dumped him at an orphanage instead.

Alexei was weakly battering against the wall of his cage, needing to be physically close to his sire, before his neko started to die. The dark mark connected them to the dark Lord giving him comfort and energy that only Tom could give him, but that could only sustain him so much, and with a weak contact he held almost no power. Meanwhile Snape was packing up his belongings at Hogwarts and planning how he would go about trying to meet the Dark Lord that summer.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previous note contents: Hello everyone! Sorry to disappoint my readers, especially one Ash17, but updates are a bit delayed. Should be at least one within the week however, I just have a temporary bit of writers block/procrastination and want a short break before diving back into writing.
> 
> Hope you have a good day! Also, wanted to share this lovely tidbit: This morning I got to witness firsthand the legendary barking up the wrong tree. My dog chased a squirrel and then proceeded to sit under a tree barking while the squirrel dashed away on the branches to another tree. He didn't figure it out for at least 20 minutes lol

Severus walked up the stone path to the imposing large doors of Malfoy Manor, usual black robes drifting behind him in a more subdued manner than his usual school appearance. Lucius greeted him at the door, solemn look on his face but hidden hope in his eyes. His friend had secretly sent word via Draco that he might have found his missing son and that he needed to meet with the Dark Lord.

As soon as he stepped foot into the sitting room that Lord Slytherin was waiting in, Severus was startled to find the man pacing right by the door and hastily backed up so as not to create a collision.

“I found Alexei!” The two men said at the same time, before stopping and staring at one another.

“You knew?!” Severus cried, staring at the Dark Lord.

“Yes, since first year, but the old coot has made it impossible to get word to you until now. His forcing the assumption of the role of Harry Potter was unable to hide my bond with Alexei.” Lord Slytherin said, sitting down in one of the large armchairs by the desk. The Dark Lord had relaxed into a more familiar manner after the two had worked together to try and find Alexei but Severus still felt a bit nervous sometimes that he would be punished for his informality.

“So...where do we go from here?” Severus said to himself, taking the other chair across from his Lord. “I know Dumbledore has put all sorts of wards around wherever Alexei is living so we can’t easily go in and get him there. When he comes back for the year maybe?” He was somewhat upset by the fact Dumbledore had managed to prevent him from getting his son back for an entire year.

“That should work well. However, getting all of the spells off him will take a long time and then I don’t recommend his return to Hogwarts after that. Would you be able to leave after the end of this coming school year or has the man trapped you in some longer contract?” The Dark Lord asked, raising an eyebrow. He physically looked to be around the same age as Severus because of his successful capture and use of the Philosopher’s stone. He would feel almost bad for the Flamels, but they were the ones who made the poor decision of trusting Dumbledore with the thing keeping them alive and their deaths the last summer was a direct consequence of that.

“I will be able to leave. yes. He forced me into signing a ten year contract in 1983 if I didn’t want a life sentence in Azkaban and that will be up at the end of this year. No doubt he will try and blackmail me back into another contract but I shall manage to leave, one way or another.” Severus replied, running a hand through his soft hair that was free from the usual protective coat it had while he was brewing potions.

Lord Slytherin summoned a house elf and requested tea to be sent to the room, pouring himself a cup as he continued discussing plans for the next year. Lucius joined them and together the three made up the Dark Lord, his right hand Lucius, and Severus as his temporary left hand until Alexei came of age and took the position as Marvolo’s mate.

It was decided that Lucius would continue appearing publically to search for his godson in order to ensure Dumbledore thought them unaware of the situation until it was too late for him to try and stop them from rescuing Alexei.

Draco was overjoyed to hear that his closest friend had been found and shared how several times he had interacted with the other, his instincts had been nudging him oddly but he had been unable to figure out why.

Narcissa cried a bit, mostly out of relief that they had found the boy she considered a son, and then joined in on planning revenge for the man who had stolen them, injecting a bit of classic Black dark ingenuity that made everyone else glad it wasn’t them that it was directed towards.

Meanwhile, the Weasley family was having a good summer. They had won a ministry lottery and were going to Egypt to visit their son Bill, who was a cursebreaker. Their picture was even in the Daily Prophet! One certain Azkaban prisoner requested the paper to stave off his constant boredom and his eyes widened as he spotted something on the front page. He would go after the rat and make him suffer for betraying his friends. A too thin dog slipped between the bars of his cell and dashed along the corridor of the prison. Dumbledore just ate drugged Lemon sherbets and plotted.


	15. Chapter 15

Harry had almost finished washing the dishes after his relatives had eaten lunch when Dudley came along behind him and shoved him roughly, startling him into dropping the bowl he was drying on the floor. It shattered with a crash and Vernon appeared in the doorway in an instant, face turning purple with rage. Petunia gazed at him with hatred on her pinched face from the living room.  
“BOY! How dare you break our china! After we took you in, fed you, clothed you, instead of dumping your freaky disgusting body in a ditch like you deserved.” Vernon yelled, mustache flopping limply on his face. He moved towards Harry and then there was a meaty slap and Harry was on the ground, face throbbing. When he tried to sit up, Dudley kicked him, a smirk on his fat face.  
Instinctively, Harry moved a hand and his eyes widened in shock when Dudley flew backwards into the still hot stove, screaming as his flesh was burned. Vernon loomed over Harry as Petunia hurried to check on her son, who was lying on the floor moaning. A shadow shifted behind the overweight man and then struck, burying its fangs in his flabby neck.  
Shui released Vernon and slithered over to where Harry was still partially slumped against the sink. {We must leave, hatchling} The snake hissed, darting their head to look at Petunia who was screaming and trying to figure out what to do about her injured family. Vernon would likely be dead within the hour from the venomous bite which muggles would be unable to treat as it came from a magical species of snake. Dudley might survive but his injuries would leave him disabled. Harry wasn’t all that surprised to find he didn’t care that much about their deaths, other than relief.  
{Let me get my things and we can go} Harry replied quietly, making a run for the door before Petunia snapped out of her shock and tried anything. Shui had coiled around his neck so he simply had to break open the lock on his cupboard to retrieve his things and collect the food stash from under a loose floorboard in the room upstairs before leaving the house.  
Harry accidentally erased Petunia’s memories of him ever existing as he left in his sudden panic that he might be arrested or expelled for their deaths. When muggle emergency services arrived after the woman managed to call them, both of her family members were already dead. It was ruled to have been a snake attack from a serpent that had managed to get in the house and the son panicked and backed straight into the stove. Petunia was taken to the hospital because of her unexplainable memory loss, as they didn’t think she had hit her head, but wanted to keep her under observation just in case.  
In his hurry to leave, Harry had neglected to realize he was on foot and had a very long way to go if he wanted to get to London. Frowning, he decided to go to a nearby forest instead. He had food supplies and a friendly snake, he should be alright.  
Not bothering to question his sudden proficiency in wandless magic, Harry had shrunk his trunk and placed it in his jacket pocket for safekeeping. Shui was still settled around his neck and since he was in the forest, he didn’t bother trying to hide her as he didn’t think anyone would see him. Cushioning the ground in the shelter of a tall tree after a moment of focus, Harry summoned a blanket and lay on it. Casting a warming charm, he settled down with Shui, moving carefully so as not to accidentally squish her.  
Harry woke up the next morning to find a fluffy black pillow next to him. A smelly, clumpy pillow. Blinking awake, Harry realised that he didn’t have a fluffy pillow, and he only had a snake. Furry animals weren’t for him. Snapping fully awake, he stretched his hand out and readied his magic. Hissing for Shui, he sent a burst of magic at the mangy dog to wake it. The dog woke and blinked at the bright sunlight, turning to see the human it had fallen asleep next to last night. They truly made a terrifying image. The child was still small, but with the impressive snake reared up on his shoulder, and his hand outstretched with magic crackling around him, the dog was scared and it whined before making a run for it by dashing away into the trees.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a double update! The first chapter is the previous one which was formerly a note.

After spending what he estimated to be about a week in the woods, Harry felt restless. He jumped up from where he was sitting drawing in the dirt with a stick and packed his things up, deciding to move somewhere else.

Shui emerged from a nearby pond where she had been hunting some frogs, looking satisfied but cold. Using a soft cloth that Harry had allocated for just this purpose, he dried her scales off before lifting her up so she could settle around his shoulders and warm up using his body heat. He used a cleaning charm himself before flattening his hair over his scar.

{Let’s go find another place to stay, Shui!} He hissed, picking up the last of his things and closing his trunk, returning it to miniature size and striding off into the trees.

{Somewhere with water?} Shui asked, gazing speculatively around her.

{Of course.} Harry agreed, smiling at his friend. Shui really loved water, seeing as she was part water snake, and enjoyed spending time in it for hunting and exploring.

They emerged from the forest, which came out to the edge of an empty street corner of some small town, and Harry fumbled with his wand that was falling out of his pocket, accidentally almost dropping it into the road before catching it more firmly and tucking it away. There was a loud bang and he jumped back, startled, as a huge violently purple bus appeared out of nowhere, screeching to a stop in front of him.

Keeping his head down to prevent anyone from recognizing him, Harry mumbled his way through the standard business of the Knight Bus, something he had heard about before. He calmly produced two sickles for the trip to the Leaky Cauldron and settled into a seat in the back, Shui nestled deep in the hood of his jacket. He grimaced as his stomach churned, deciding to never take the knight bus again unless he had no other choice.

***

Harry smiled fondly at Shui, who was splashing around in the sink of the room he was staying in at the Leaky Cauldron. Thankfully, he had managed to check in without any fuss and was now securely in his room, where he was planning to stay for the majority of the time.

He did leave every now and then under cover of a glamor to hide his scar. A nice hair lengthening potion he had found in one of the stores off Diagon had managed to make his hair slightly easier to deal with and some brown eyes using a spell rendered him nearly unrecognizable. Since the end of summer was swiftly approaching, Harry went out without the glamour to get school supplies, frown firmly attached to his face as people pointed and stared.

He went into Madam Malkins for some new school robes as his old ones were just a bit too short to use anymore. With a sense of deja vu, Harry looked to his left and saw none other than Draco Malfoy standing there, being fitted for his own robes. Shaking his head, a small smile threatened to creep onto his face.

“Malfoy,” he greeted calmly. The boy jumped slightly, before seeing him and affecting a calm disposure. “Potter, how has life with the weasels and mudbloods been treating you?” Draco said, raising an eyebrow. When Harry looked away to glance at where Madame Malkin was gathering some pins from a tray, the blonde watched him with yearning eyes while he was distracted. He knew that underneath was his closest friend Alexei, but was unable to do anything for now.

Harry shook his head, shrugging as he honestly didn’t really care. “Haven’t contacted them all summer, how’s the pug Malfoy, still clinging onto you like a leech?” Draco didn’t bother to repress his smile at the insult to his  stalker housemate. The girl seemed to think clinging onto him would somehow manifest a marriage contract with him.

“She does look rather like a pug doesn’t she,” He responded with a conspiratorial grin.

Harry was happy to have somewhat pleasant human company and decided to talk to the blonde about classes. “So Draco, what electives have you chosen?”

“Care of magical creatures and Ancient runes, has the Weasel managed to get you to take CMC and divination yet?” Draco was obviously not a very good listener, Harry thought in amusement. He’d just said he hadn’t talked to them at all.

“I didn’t have any contact with them.” He repeated, shaking his head at Malfoy. “I’m taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy this year, the other subjects seem completely useless!” Their conversation continued until they left with robes and Harry didn’t even notice they had slipped into first names.

***

Waving goodbye to Draco, Harry left to look for an apothecary as he needed to get his ingredients for the year ahead. Walking into a less popular store off the main street of Diagon, he perused the shelves, trying to find the ingredients from his list. He was so busy looking for the beetle section, he didn’t notice someone standing in front of the crushed claws until he crashed into a now very familiar chest. 

Blushing a bit, Harry backed up and apologized. “Sorry Professor. I was just looking for some beetle eyes” He said, glancing up at the imposing figure in front of him.

“Apology accepted. Glad to see you taking more of an interest in potions than the dunderheads that use pre-prepared kits lacking quality.” Snape replied, nodding with an almost friendly look on his face.

“Professor…. Is there any news on Alexei?” Harry hesitantly asked, unsure if his odd relationship with professor Snape was close enough to ask him about his son.

“A small lead has appeared, yes.” Snape said, gazing at him oddly for a moment before shaking his head and leaving. After locating the beetle eyes and the last two ingredients on his list, Harry exited the store, happy to be finished with his shopping. He was tired and looking forward to relaxing in his room with some hot bangers and mash.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! This chapter hasn't been edited I just wrote it out so let me know if I messed something up :D
> 
> I'm planning on leading the story in a Remus and Sirius bashing direction, so heads up on that. I don't have anything against them in canon or usually, but I thought since they were horrible to Alexei's father, then they wouldn't get along especially since the real Harry is dead. Sirius never really grew up and as such would likely try and torment Severus again.

The train station was still mostly empty when Harry arrived at Platform 9 ¾. He had left the Leaky Cauldron early that morning and it was two hours before most students and their families would arrive. He felt a slight tug towards a compartment as he walked up the train and was unable to break the compulsion so Harry found himself sliding open the door and entering the occupied section.

Inside he found a sleeping man wearing threadbare robes whose battered case read Remus Lupin on it. Looking closer, Harry raised an incredulous eyebrow when he noticed the man had scars and claw marks all over the exposed skin of his face and arms. He realised that last night had been a full moon, the calendar in his room at the Leaky had marked out all the moon phases and with the ridiculous name, all the evidence suggested that the man was a werewolf. 

Not able to relax entirely, Harry sat down on the bench facing Lupin and read a book, keeping an eye on the werewolf and trying to figure out if he would be dangerous when he woke up. Likely not, he didn’t think werewolves changed except for the full moon. It was quite odd that the man was on the train though, only students ever took it to the school and he was much too old to be a student. He guessed the man had to be the new DADA teacher, but it still didn’t explain his being on the Hogwarts Express.

After about an hour and a half, Lupin stirred and blinked in surprise when he found someone else in the compartment with him. His amber colored eyes also added to the evidence of the man being a werewolf, which focused on Harry’s presence with a wary gaze. Sensing the other watching him, Harry looked up and returned the stare with one of his own, calm and imposing. He hadn’t put on his school robes yet and with the green color scheme of his informal robes, he was slightly amused that people who didn’t know him might think he was a Slytherin. Certainly the werewolf man thought so, as his eyes hardened and his gaze was not very friendly. Lovely, another teacher with it out for him.

“Good morning, Professor Lupin, it’s around 10 o’clock, so only some of the earliest students are here. I presume you are the new Defence against the Dark arts teacher?” Slightly unnerved by the young teen’s drawling tone, eerily similar to Snape’s, he leaned back a little and nodded to agree to the question. 

They settled into an uncomfortable silence, which was thankfully disturbed by students arriving. Another boy greeted them as he went past, but after that the student returned to reading. When there was pause and no one was in the corridor near them, he looked up from reading and tilted his head as he contemplated Lupin.

“Unfortunate name isn’t it,” He said, raising an eyebrow. Remus was too shocked to answer, so the boy carried on, “I mean your name basically means wolfy mcmoon. Quite unfortunate what with you being a werewolf and all!” 

Remus seemed shocked, which really he shouldn’t be, it wasn’t like he’d been doing a good job hiding it at all. “What- how?” He stammered, fingers twitching as if they wanted to grab his wand.

“Well you’re clearly injured and exhausted for a start. The full moon was last night. That claw mark is similar to what you would get from a wolf, but any non-magical animal couldn’t cause an unhealable scar. I read my textbook for defence against the dark arts over the summer and werewolves interested me, so I found a book that seemed realistic at the bookstore.” Harry omitted that he was researching line magical creatures because of his imminent inheritance and gave the man an innocent smile before turning back to his book. The rest of the train ride was spent in silence.

When the compartment went cold about three fourths of the way through the journey, Harry simply threw up a warming charm, effectively steering away the dementors, as they could be damaged by heat. As Professor Lupin looked on incredulously, Harry just continued reading. Professor Lupin decided that the strange raven haired boy was best left alone.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which its really not that much happening but its still interesting and important™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's that? A chapter? wow that's a miracle, you say, I was thinking it would never happen
> 
> Yeah, um, sorry? life kicked me in the face and I just had struggle to find time with my schoolwork but here we go, a magnificent chapter! 
> 
> PLUS my grades have never been so good *brags*
> 
> all A's (and a B+ but we don't talk about them) and 4.18 GPA (☉_☉)
> 
> anywaYs hope you enjoy reading this and have a good day! <3

Harry was happy to see the Potions professor who acted more kindly towards him in private and had for the most part turned more neutral in public with the occasional comment or two. He smiled briefly and nodded to Snape as he walked past him on his way to the feast, choosing to sit near the end of the table with Neville who was happy to chat about the summer. After the feast, Harry decided to try and act a bit more like he was thinking about becoming friends with Hermione and Ron this year, his inner instincts believing it would be a good idea to lull Dumbledore into a sense of security without giving them too much. Vaguely friends and classmates was about the level Harry was aiming for.

With his serpent friend safely tucked in his warm pocket, Harry snuck out of the Gryffindor dorm early that evening when his roommates were distracted in the common room and went to visit Snape, who greeted him briefly and handed him a book before working on something at his desk in silence. What Harry was unaware of for the moment was how Severus had his wand out under the table, face set in concentration as he carefully felt out the many bindings on his son. It would take a while to find a safe place to start, these were meant to harm if not removed correctly.

As it became later, Snape stopped working on the magic and tucked away his notes to share with his Lord later, dismissing Harry to go back to his dorms. He stared after the suppressed form of Alexei as he vanished into the dark and mostly empty corridors before letting out a quiet sigh and leaving his office to go to his rooms.

***

Harry frowned as he watched Professor Lupin cast a cruel spell on Peeves. No one really liked the poltergeist but that was too far for simply trying to put gum in a lock. And with the previous track record of defense teachers, Harry took this as a sign that he should be wary. Not only was the man a werewolf but he was holding other secrets. His inner cat hissed as the man passed and he felt it in the uneasy manifestation of tension every time Lupin got too close to him.

The Defense class was going to the staff room today for a hands-on lesson, as Lupin had put it, with a boggart that most of his classmates that lived in the muggle world seemed terrified about, even Ron. The armoire rattled ominously and then Lupin taught them the spell to stop it or at least prevent it from scaring you anymore. Neville went first and his greatest fear was apparently Snape, something that made Harry frown and look at his friend in concern. Snape wasn’t really that bad so why did Neville fear him out of everything the most, it just didn’t make sense.

Spiders, clowns, various somewhat traumatic memories, a banshee, some disturbing nightmares, and one oddly creepy toadstool later, it was Harry’s turn. He stepped forward, unsure what his boggart would turn into. Maybe people thought it was going to be Voldemort or something, as even Lupin seemed seconds from stepping in, but instead with a whirl it morphed through the features of his relatives, mostly vernon but melted like jelly into a vague shape with a long beard and glowing blue holes in its face before it exploded into tiny silver and golden fragments shimmering in the air.

Harry jolted backwards like he had been punched, his neko recognizing the mocking representation of his bond broken beyond repair. Everyone else seemed confused, not realizing what it was meant to represent and Alexei himself was only partially aware of the cruel truth. Pushing through the horror at the scene, he took a deep breath and yelled Ridikulus, the spell slamming into the boggart so forcefully it was thrown backwards into the wardrobe.

A solemn look on his face, Harry turned and left the classroom as soon as they were dismissed, missing the concerned and conflicted look on the DADA professor’s face as he stared after the boy he believed to be his lost cub. He was much different than the werewolf had assumed he would be, longer hair and a quieter personality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://m1dn1ghtstar.tumblr.com/currentprojects
> 
> for more information on what I am currently working on, visit my tumblr! :)


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time! Alexei will finally be freed and reunited with Severus and Draco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D Lets gooooooo
> 
> I was so excited while writing this chapter, hope you all enjoy reading it!

It had been a quiet year in terms of the usual level of chaos present at Hogwarts. Nothing had gone overtly horribly wrong. Lupin had attempted to get closer to who he believed was Harry and it had worked somewhat, but the two fit oddly and not all that well. The werewolf's instincts were also suspicious of the truth because ‘Harry’s’ scent seemed off but Remus had been drugged up to the gills by Dumbledore and his wolf side was sickly and weak so he never realized his real cub was no longer alive. 

There had been a brief misunderstanding over a hippogriff in the Care of Creatures but that was thankfully sorted out without anything terrible occurring. One exhausted looking Hermione Granger had also been seen in far too many places at once, but despite several of the professors voicing their opinion on the matter, the Headmaster had ignored them and even encouraged the girl to continue as she had been.

With Sirius Black on the loose, dementors patrolled the grounds of the school and quite a few students had required treatment for exposure. Severus was thankful that Alexei had not been among them. Speaking of the escaped criminal, around February the Daily Prophet released a special morning edition that announced his capture by the DMLE and that the Head of Department Bones had discovered the man had never been given a trial and remedied this. A shocking truth was revealed and a wanted posted for one Peter Pettigrew. Apparently, the man was thought to be a Death Eater, which Severus found amusing as he was certain Pettigrew wasn’t and never would be. He suspected the rat really worked for Dumbledore.

It was nearing the end of March when Snape finally had unraveled the tangled web of magic trapping his son within himself enough that one last pull would send the entire thing crashing down without harming Alexei. There was a chance his neko inheritance would come early as it had been exerting so much pressure on the bindings in an effort to free him that a sudden release might push it to burst out before it was supposed to. Biting his lip, Severus let out a sigh and wrapped his magic carefully around the ‘handle’ he needed to pull. Silently pleading that nothing would go wrong, he yanked as hard as he could.

There was a painfully powerful feeling of pressure in the room and father and son stared at one another for a second before Alexei fell to the ground as his appearance blurred and melted, returning to its true state. A whirlwind of his magic burst out of him and his ears and tail gleamed oddly for a moment before a wave of silver crashed into him, bleeding into his skin. Alexei slumped to the ground, panting as he tried to catch his breath.

***

As he looked up into the face of his father, Alexei couldn’t hold back his tears and he was scooped up into strong safe arms that held him tightly. “Father.” He mumbled as he buried his face in the dark robes.

“Alexei, I-” Uncharacteristically, Severus was at a loss for words and swallowed, shaking his head before pulling his son closer. Finally, they had been reunited. It had felt like forever during those three years that he had searched tirelessly for his precious child.

Standing with Alexei still clutched tightly to him, Snape rushed out of his office and into his private quarter, sending a house elf to retrieve Draco. He would not separate the two friends longer than necessary, his godson deserved to know right away that Alexei was back.

The blonde teen burst into the room and dove straight for his dark haired best friend, who was now seated on the bed, having changed into some more comfortable clothes as he was now the size he should be again and the old rags Harry was forced to wear didn’t fit him.

“Alexei, you’re back!” Draco cried, squeezing Alexei tightly with a euphoric smile on his face.

“Draco!” Alexei replied, hugging him back and grinning. After the two talked for a while, Alexei turned quieter and subdued, clearly tiring. Severus was just about to usher Draco back to bed when his son turned to him and asked, “Where’s my-our Lord?”

“He is well, currently at Slytherin Castle. His true body has been regained thanks to the Philosopher’s Stone and he is eager to see you again after the school term concludes. My contract I was forced into will expire so we will not need to return.” Snape responded, gazing fondly at him.

Alexei nodded. “Alright.” Turning to Draco again, the young neko smiled and wished his friend good night, waving as the blonde teen vanished out into the corridor, escorted back by a house elf so he wouldn’t be in trouble for being out late.

That night Severus and Alexei clung to each other in a nest of blankets and soft fabrics as their instincts pushed them to stay close after the forced time apart. Father and son had reunited and those who had separated them would suffer.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Slytherin and his mate meet after years of separation and their relationship has shifted now that Alexei has come into his inheritance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna have so much fun writing Alexei and Marvolo getting to know each other differently hehe

Draco glanced around quickly before tugging Alexei along behind him as they boarded the train. Their trunks had been popped to Malfoy Manor by a house elf already so they just needed to bring themselves and Shui, who was currently resting under the left sleeve of Alexei’s robes. 

Once safely on the Slytherin end of the train, the two found the compartment where Daphne Greengrass was sitting by herself. Draco and Daphne were mates, but neither had come into their full veela inheritances yet and preferred to stick to a close friendship for the time being. Seeing them curled up close to one another, laughing over an issue of the Prophet, sparked longing in Alexei, who swallowed roughly and stared out the window, wishing the time would go by faster until he could finally see his own mate again. 

Lord Slytherin was a complicated issue to his mind, but for his instincts, everything was much simpler. Despite the age difference and how intimidating the Dark Lord could be, the man was his mate and nothing could ever change that. Subconsciously, Alexei’s fingers drifted up to brush the letters curling across his ear and his head fell back against the seat, but then Draco said something to him and distracted him for the rest of the train ride.

Far away, another neko was also looking out the window of his room, trying not to give into the anticipation and anxious energy filling him, not that he’d ever admit to feeling such things. A knock on the door had them rising and opening it to find Narcissa there, who told him that the boys would be there soon with a knowing smile. Nodding, Marvolo followed her down the corridor and several flights of stairs into the entry hall.

***

Waiting until the perfect moment to reveal he was not returning the next year, Severus nodded along quietly to everything Dumbledore and the other teachers were saying. It took at least an half hour before an opportunity appeared, and he decided to take it, smirking as he looked McGonagall straight in the eyes and refused to take any more of her duties on.

“I’m afraid it will be you with more to do, Minerva.” He drawled, leaning back in his chair casually while flexing his wrist to slide his wand out its hidden holster and into his hand. “You see, I’ve decided that teaching children really just isn’t my thing and as such I will not be renewing my contract.” He said, tossing the shredded remains of the old one no longer in effect on the table before striding out of the room before Dumbledore could try to cast anything on him. Most of the teachers stared after him in shock but a couple exchanged proud smiles when the others were distracted by shouting at one another.

Using the staff room floo, Severus appeared in Diagon Alley with a flash of green flame before disapparating with a quiet crack right after. His belongings had already been taken to Malfoy Manor along with the boys, so he only had his wand and a few other things such as emergency potions on him.

When he opened his eyes again, it was to the elegant foyer of the manor, which was occupied by Narcissa, Lucius, and Lord Slytherin. Giving a polite bow, Severus strode across the room and placed the charmed wrist cuff that Lucius had let him borrow, to apparate directly into their home, back in its place in the glass display case.

Moments later, voices could be heard outside and Daphne came into the manor arm in arm with Draco, followed by Alexei who was talking with Lord Greengrass, who had been the one to wait for them at the platform as the only publicly neutral adult in the group.

Severus’s son looked up and saw Marvolo, his steps faltering for a moment before continuing on, a shy smile on his face. Alexei gave his father a hug and then Lucius and Narcissa each gave him one, not bothering to be formal when only those they considered family were around, even their Lord.

Lord Slytherin watched Alexei like a predator, wanting nothing more than to pounce on his kitten after having him so cruelly taken away for years. Remembering his company and also restraining his instincts, Marvolo instead stepped forward and took Alexei’s hand, lifting it to his mouth for a gentle brush of his lips. Alexei’s cheeks stained pink and the two stared at each other for a moment before Marvolo took a step back, releasing his mate’s hand.

“I will see you later at dinner.” The Dark Lord said, giving everyone a polite nod but his eyes stayed fastened to Alexei’s face as if he was really speaking just to him before he turned and vanished up the stairs, leaving his young mate trembling with a complex mix of feelings.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't completely satisfied with how this turned out, so it will likely get some changes made in the future when I finish the story and go back to edit and finalize the fic.
> 
> I feel like my relationship writing skills are somewhat lacking despite my best efforts :(
> 
> so sorry if it seems awkward
> 
> Please let me know if you liked the chapter and what your thoughts are on the relationship dynamic between Marvolo and Alexei

Dinner that evening was not a formal affair, as everyone was happy to relax in the company of their family. Marvolo had released his glamour and his ears and tail could be seen for the first time for most of them. Alexei found himself staring several times before catching himself and looking away, blushing. He also had left his features relaxed and free of their usual hidden state.

Narcissa kept the conversation going effortlessly, switching topics occasionally and asking questions to include everyone as they ate their pasta together. Draco and Alexei were seated next to each other, with Lucius and Narcissa across the table from them with Marvolo and Severus next to Lucius and Daphne and Lord Greengrass on the left of Draco. Nagini had curled up underneath the chair Marvolo was occupying, occasionally making sassy comments that had Alexei struggling not to laugh. Lord Slytherin seemed amused as well, but hid it much better.

After dinner had concluded, Marvolo requested to speak privately with Severus and Alexei, which had Draco making suggestive faces as they left until Daphne smacked him over the head in a chastising manner. Alexei’s mate waited until they were all seated in one of the sitting rooms off the main hall before announcing that he wanted to begin formally courting him this summer. 

His father took a deep breath before shaking his head in disbelief, mumbling something Alexei swore sounded like, ‘He’s still my little boy. I just got him back’ and pouting slightly, though Severus would deny it until his dying breath. He looked at Marvolo again and eventually accepted the courtship, not without some more grumbling.

Creature courtships were different from those used in general wizarding society, they had less contracts and the involved parties had much more control over entering them. Since creature courtships happened with their mates, they often went better than those dying noble families were desperate enough to use which ended badly a large portion of the time. The parents of creatures were informed and asked, though it was just a formality and they had no actual say over whether or not their child could court their mate.

Entering a formal courtship with Marvolo simply meant that they would spend more time together in a romantic sense and that they had announced their intention to eventually bond to the rest of creature society. Alexei was both thrilled and nervous, feeling inadequate compared to Lord Slytherin but excited to finally get to know his mate better in a relaxed setting. As the younger party, he was the one who set the pace and it was his choice when and how to proceed.

Marvolo kissed Alexei’s hand again before departing to his rooms, leaving Severus and Alexei to rejoin the others who had settled into a relaxed game of Monopoly in the family room, a game that Severus had introduced to Lucius while they were at Hogwarts. Lucius had taken to it like a fish to water and now the board game was a staple in the Malfoy home.

After a long and entertaining game that ended with none other than Narcissa victorious over her opponents and the sun long gone from the sky, Severus and Alexei were shown to the rooms they would be staying in that summer. Prince Manor wasn’t safe to return to as Dumbledore was able to get in through the wards, but there was currently efforts to revamp the ward system so it would be possible to live there again in the future.


	22. Announcement: Renaming Vote

I have decided to rename this story. The title I originally went with was based on the writer's title that I adopted the work of and I feel like it doesn't really fit...

https://forms.gle/MoAuLokKqphPjWda8

Voting is open until 12/6


	23. Renaming Title Winner Announcement + News

With 50% of the vote, Reunion of Souls won as the new title of this fic! Thank you everyone who participating in voting <3

I would also like to announce RoS will have an update delay until January 1st. I hope you will be understanding and patient.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A summer chapter, not too much plot but cuteness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaaaack  
> ＼(＾▽＾)／ 
> 
> hello to my lovely readers, hope you had a good holidays and happy new year! May 2021 be better for everyone <3

Over the next week, Alexei spent the majority of his time with Marvolo. They would spend hours together going for walks in the garden or reading in the library. It was relaxing and Alexei was happy to get to know his mate on a more personal level. He got to see a more quiet and private side of his lord, along with a Marvolo who let himself relax and act more casually than the formal manners he usually needed to use.

Draco would often spy on their courting, and snicker to himself at all the good blackmail he was acquiring, on Alexei of course, he was a bit too intimidated by Marvolo to try anything on his lord. He also got a lovely picture of the two looking through a book together, with Marvolo’s head resting on Alexei’s shoulder as he pointed to something on one of the pages, and handed it to his godfather with a smirk. Severus sighed in a long suffering manner and looked at the moving photograph, playing the scene over and over, with an indulgent smile. His son looked so happy and that made him happy too, despite his inner worries of losing his child again, this time to a mate and family of his own.

A few days into summer break, Marvolo also gifted Alexei with a new set of colored pencils and a sketchbook, having learned that liked to draw in his free time. With a thrilled smile, Alexei had promptly made several detailed illustrations of his mate and then moved on to sketching the albino peacocks that lived on the grounds of Malfoy Manor. Marvolo liked to watch him draw, gazing at the adorable look of concentration and the way Alexei would squish his face when he was trying to get something  _ just right _ on the paper.

Feeling comfortable with Marvolo, it was absentmindedly that Alexei leaned against his shoulder drowsily one afternoon, sleepy from the warm sunlight and delicious picnic they had consumed. He drifted off to sleep, leaving a surprised but fond Marvolo to run gentle fingers through his hair, careful to avoid his ears.

***

Across the manor, Draco was conflicted as he stared at his parents. He wanted to go with Alexei to Durmstrang the next year, but was reluctant to leave Daphne alone at Hogwarts. Though he hadn’t fully come into his inheritance, his veela was still alarmed at the thought of his mate being in potential danger without him able to help her.

Seeming to understand why he was partially opposed to the change, Narcissa leaned forward a bit and patted her son’s hand reassuringly. “Ah, I almost forget. Lord Greengrass has decided to move Daphne to Durmstrang as well, though he will say it was Beauxbatons publicly so he is still viewed as neutral.”

Draco brightened at the news, and nodded enthusiastically. “Then I’d love to go.” He said. With Daphne coming as well, they would have a trio to protect one another and watch each other’s backs.

His father smiled warmly and told him, “Good. We will also be doing a bit of training this summer, as the wards will block the Trace, so you three are prepared as transfer students for the different curriculum of Durmstrang.”

After his parents were done talking with him, Draco returned to his room and wrote to Daphne, letting her know how happy he was to have her coming to Durmstrang along with him and Alexei. She replied within a few hours, returning the sentiments and wishing him a good night, telling him that he’d see her soon for training.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in updating, my classes have been kicking my ass recently...
> 
> I'm happy to say that I've finally managed to complete another chapter ＼(￣▽￣)／ 
> 
> I have been trying to figure out some plot and character related things recently, which is a bit harder than usual considering that I adopted and rewrote this story so I don't have a 'full picture'  
> Hopefully I can get it all sorted out but there will likely be copious amounts of editing in the near future, so beware 
> 
> Until then, have a wonderful day and please remember to stay hydrated and get lots of sleep °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Alexei blushed nervously as he handed Marvolo a small box, having made himself anxious over gifting a gift to his mate in return. The look of excited anticipation that took over Marvolo’s features was well worth all the agonizing he had put himself through.

Carefully lifting off the lid, Marvolo’s lips parted in surprise and his eyes darted up to look at the other. As he pulled the wood and metal instrument out of the box, he asked, “How did you know I used to play the kalimba? Mine was lost long ago in Andorra and I never had the chance to acquire another...”

“Uncle Lucius told me. Abraxas.” Alexei explained, smiling at Marvolo who was now playing a simple, tinkling melody. 

“Thank you.” Marvolo said, his voice suspiciously uneven. Alexei settled at his side and listened with a content heart, daring to press a soft kiss to his cheek before darting away with an elegant leap, the dark fur of his tail whirling through the air as he vanished through the doorway.

His mate stared after him with a hungry gaze, greatly tempted to hunt down his kitten and give him a proper kiss. However, he would never pressure Alexei into anything, his mate was far too precious to him and as the youngest party of the courtship, he controlled its pace.

Eventually disrupting his thoughts of the future and his relationship, Marvolo got up to carefully put away his new instrument. After checking the time, he realized that the dueling practice Lucius had arranged would be beginning soon and decided to go watch. It never hurt to learn more about those who would be in his ranks in the near future.

Striding through the halls of Malfoy Manor, Marvolo joined Narcissa and Silas Greengrass as they watched their children practice offensive and defensive spells on practice dummies. Lucius was teaching them and had a proud smile on his face as he watched the great success from all of them.

Narcissa noticed his arrival first and nodded politely, beckoning him closer to say quietly. “They are doing surprisingly well, despite their training before Hogwarts. The quality of education at the school these days is just sad, really.”

Marvolo made a sound of agreement before he was distracted by Alexei, who was now having an actual duel with Lucius. He was putting up a valiant fight and wasn’t afraid to bend the rules to his advantage, resulting in Daphne and Draco having to duck as a conjured flower pot almost hit them. The two moved to join the spectators for the time being, knowing they would just get in the way of the duelers. Eventually, Lucius with his larger spell repertoire and years of experience managed to disarm Alexei and pin him down with his wand at Alexei’s throat, quickly releasing him and giving him constructive criticism on the duel.

A proud smile took over Marvolo’s face and he was sure to praise his mate for his fierce fighting skills. He was also kind of  _ uncomfortable _ because of the strong magic washing over him, but was sure to hide it and not betray his state to anyone, though he wasn’t sure he succeeded in doing so for anyone but his Alexei if the smirk Narcissa gave him was anything to go by.

After the others had taken their turns fighting Lucius (and Draco managed to beat his father, who was worn out from the consecutive duels), Marvolo and Alexei went their own way from the rest of the group and settled down on the grass outside. Marvolo explained that he wanted to teach him some basic wandless magic so Alexei could defend himself even without a wand. It would be an invaluable skill to have, affording his mate better protection and also greater control over his normal work with his wand.

Alexei turned out to be a natural and quickly amazed Marvolo at just how easily wandless magic seemed to come to him. By the end of the afternoon, he could make himself invisible, disarm someone else with a wave of his hand, and light a small fire. This again created a  _ situation _ for poor Marvolo, whose self-control was shredding along the edges in the face of his stunning and powerful mate.

Giving in to his inner neko somewhat, Marvolo leaned in slowly after helping Alexei up, giving him plenty of time to move away or tell him to stop. Alexei did neither and leaned closer to Marvolo, his eyes fluttering closed with a blissful expression on his face as their lips gently met.

Pulling away after a second, Marvolo gazed down at his mate with fiery eyes and brushed another gentle kiss to his lips before saying, “Until tomorrow, my darling kitten.” as he left reluctantly, greatly preferring spending time with Alexei to the paperwork waiting for him.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The summer has to come to an end and things will pick back up to the usual chaos again! It's time to go to Durmstrang :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all as excited as I am to have the trio go to Durmstrang! I have made a series of maps for school layout and even the island the school is on, those will be posted along with the next chapter so keep an eye out <3

All too soon, the end of summer had arrived. The overhaul of the wards on Prince Manor had been finished and Severus and Alexei had returned to live there for the last few weeks before the school term would start and Alexei would be off to Durmstrang with his friends. The house elves at his childhood home had been overjoyed to see their young master returned safe, though only one of them had known him before his kidnapping and had retired as she was very old now. The others had been contracted by his father during the summer to ensure the upkeep of the Manor.

The escaped prisoner from last year had been caught by the Ministry in mid-June and the head of the DMLE Amelia Bones had apparently discovered that the man, Sirius Black, had never been given a trial and ensured he got one. To everyone’s surprise, it was found that Black was actually innocent and had been wrongfully imprisoned for over a decade. The Ministry hastily gave him compensation and paid for him to stay at St Mungos in order to recover both physically and mentally from his years in Azkaban.

While the teens had been enjoying their break from school and preparing for Durmstrang, the adults had been busy planning and arranging for things to occur, such as a certain reporter receiving an anonymous tip to check out No.4 Privet Drive where she found horrifying evidence that Harry Potter had been murdered by his relatives after a life of abuse. The memory spell on the cupboard had been suggested by the writer of the note and was very informative, sickeningly so. Questioning the neighbors also turned up the fact that the family had been involved in an fatal accident and the single surviving member had moved away, but the timeline didn’t add up, causing Skeeter to decide to look further into that before Dumbledore got to her and forced her to forget that part of the information.

The news was everywhere within hours, after the Prophet printed a special evening edition of the paper. Dumbledore, who had been planning on lying that Potter had gone elsewhere for training, was infuriated that he hadn’t managed to stop them from telling the public, but was thankful he’d remembered to guarantee he couldn’t be traced to guardianship in any way so he dodged the furious outcry that would’ve otherwise been directed his way. A few fake tears and a solemn interview ensured that public opinion was still firmly in favor of him.

Back at Prince Manor, Alexei was rolling his eyes fondly at his father as he repeated that he did in fact have everything he needed packed. Severus had combined all of the parently fussing from the three years he’d missed into one and was bordering on annoying his son with his constant worrying and checks that he wasn’t forgetting something in his trunk. He couldn’t bring himself to be really upset with him though, knowing just how hard he had taken it when Alexei was missing.

He joined Draco and Daphne by the floo at Prince Manor and the three threw down the green powder and took turns stepping through the wild international floo flames to the harbor where the Durmstrang Ship had docked along the coast of Portugal. Students from many different countries were boarding the boat, with their parents making sure they got settled into their respective cabins and embarrassing them in front of their classmates with hugs and kisses.

Marvolo had been unable to see him off because of an unavoidable meeting, but he’d made sure to visit Alexei earlier and give him a chaste kiss before pressing a green and blue notebook into his hands. It was connected with a twin notebook that Marvolo had himself, allowing the mates to talk with one another despite being continents away. Alexei had clung to him tightly for a moment before daring another kiss, which was getting a bit heated before Draco had cleared his throat loudly from the doorway.

All of the trio’s parents had come to the docks to wish them farewell and Narcissa gave them all a simple box lunch for when they got hungry. The trip was a long one, despite the assistance of magic, and would take most of the day. Durmstrang was located on a hidden island in the Black Sea and so sailing from Porto, Portugal was quite the distance to cover.

In the cabin they had chosen, Alexei settled in his comfortable seat across from Draco and Daphne and retrieved a book from his trunk under the seat. After an hour or two and a lengthy conversation with Marvolo via notebook, he blinked sleepily and considered taking a nap. It was going to be a long trip.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arrival at Durmstrang :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had a huge amount of planning and worldbuilding done before it, so prepare yourselves for the onslaught of information <3
> 
> Also, the maps and other info is finally here!

Around 8 hours later, the ship finally docked in the waters surrounding the island Durmstrang called home. The students followed in one large group along the lengthy pier and inside through the large wooden front doors. They were guided by a tall woman who introduced herself as Lady Dinara, the Charms Professor, and the seating system explained to the new students after the large group arrived at the Dining Hall. 

The room was a semi-circle with tiers arranged to face the large staff table along the opposite wall. Durmstrang had eight years of classes compared to the seven offered by Hogwarts and the ten Beauxbatons had, so there were four tiers of seating for the students, who shared a tier with one other year of students. With the Durmstrang system, the three transfer students had tested into Fifth Year thanks to their summer work, so they took a seat near one end of the second to highest tier.

A dark haired boy next to Daphne introduced himself politely to the trio as as Teodor Burian and struck up a conversation with Draco about a new potions journal. A couple of girls sitting at the tier below greeted them in a friendly manner and Alexei learned they were Raheema and Aria Bukhari from Pakistan and were 4th years at Durmstrang. Teodor was in 6th year, so the year above them. A couple yearmates also greeted the trio and by the end of dinner, Draco was well on the way to becoming friends with Artin Hamiti from Albania and Daphne was happily sharing a book on healing properties of herbs with Katona Petra of Hungary. Alexei was getting along quite well with a boy named Hayri Benli from Turkey.

Headmaster Karkaroff gave a quick speech welcoming all the students back to Durmstrang for the year and dismissed everyone off to their dormitories, where their belongings were waiting for them, having been moved by the castle’s house elves. Following Hayri, Artin, and Katona back out into the hallway and towards the large main staircase that spiraled up through the levels of the school and connected the three floors, the trio gazed in appreciation at the tasteful and elegant decor. Alexei appreciated the snakes carved on the balustrade of the staircase in particular, and his thoughts went to Shui, who was waiting for him in the dorms. His familiar had been thrilled to hear of the warmer climate of Durmstrang and was more than willing to leave the chilly weather of Hogwarts behind.

Arriving at the exit from the stairs into the second floor, Alexei followed Artin’s lead and the group of friends made a series of right turns before Katona waved goodbye and went into the 5th year girls’ dorms with Daphne, leaving the four boys to take another right and enter their own dorm. There were about 15 boys in their year and they were split up into 3 rooms with five boys in each. Draco and Alexei ended up with Hayri and two strangers, while Artin was with some other boys who he knew and said goodbye to to his new friends before he cheerfully asked how his roommates' summers had gone.

Shui was lounging on a heat rock on the bedside table in between Draco and Alexei’s beds, which were simple but comfortable with two pillows and an extra blanket draped on the end. The boys trunks had all been placed at the end of their beds, which were in a row. The two boys that Alexei didn’t know seemed to be friendly and introduced themselves as Teddy Jacobsen from Denmark and Alviero Tata from Italy.

Tired from the long journey, all of the roommates made the unspoken decision to go to bed and leave everything else for tomorrow. Alexei looked at his schedule before settling down under the covers and nodded in approval as he was aware the trio all had identical ones, which Marvolo had ensured in the name of safety. They had opted to stick to mostly core classes and self study for any electives the others weren’t interested in.

His mind drifted to Marvolo now and his fingers drifted unconsciously across his lips as he remembered the last time they had met. A strong longing took over him and Alexei blinked sleepily as he retrieved his journal from his trunk and stroked over the cover with a gentle finger. Hopefully, he would be available to have a quick conversation and that would allow his instincts to settle enough to let him sleep. Tomorrow was sure to be a tiring day and he wanted to be well rested.


	28. Durmstrang Maps + Extras

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some information/planning :)

Durmstrang staff:

Headmaster - Igor Karkaroff (male)

Caretaker - Mateo Fernandez (male)

Groundskeeper - Birgun Basaran (female)

Charms - Lady Dinara Arian (female)

Defense - Aron Ortega (male)

Dark Arts - Lord Claude Bogoria (male)

Transfiguration - Silas Maes (male)

Magical History - Sir Osvaldo Radford (male)

Arts - Elena Howell (female)

Herbology - Delicia Rigby (female)

Runes - Samuel Alvarado (male)

Arithmancy - Maida Covington (female)

Spell crafting - Alejandro Burton (male)

Magical creatures - Francis Salcedo (male)

Librarian - Mr. Nestor Peralta (male)

Astronomy - Hassan Kemper (male)

Dueling - Ismael Stone and Clayton Schwartz (male)

Students:

Teodor Burian - 6th year Durmstrang, is a year older than the three who are in 5th year (Durmstrang students start at 10 instead of 11 so trio are still with age group) Czech - becomes like a mentor, also introduces them to Krum who he knows

Raheema and Aria Bukhari - twins from Pakistan, are 4th years so 1 year younger than trio - don’t really interact with much in the future but are still friends, female

Artin Hamiti - from Albania, 5th year Durmstrang, friends with trio, male

Katona Petra - from Hungary, 5th year Durmstrang friends with trio, female

Hayri Benli - from Turkey, 5th year Durmstrang, friends with trio, male and roommate with Draco and Alexei

Teddy Jacobsen - from Danish, roommate with Draco and Alexei

Alviero Tata - from Italy, roommate with Draco and Alexei

Class Schedule (for trio):

7 - 8:30 am - Breakfast

8:30 - 9 am - Free time

9 - 10 am - Magical History

10 - 11 am - Runes

11 - 1 pm - Lunch

1 - 2 pm - Charms

2 - 3 pm - Defense/Dueling *alternate days*

3 - 4 pm - Dark Arts

4 - 5 pm - Transfiguration

5 - 6:30 pm - Dinner

6:30 - 7 pm - Herbology

7 - 9 pm - Free time until curfew

No classes on weekends


	29. Chapter Twenty Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I include way too much specific food names and realistic bird species for some reason, also the kiddos explore the island and castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this chapter! Sorry for the delay, it will be another two weeks as next week's Heritage Unknown's turn for an update :(
> 
> Take it up with my school if you have a problem with it lol

The next morning, Alexei woke early and watched out the window as a stunning sunrise blossomed across the horizon, meeting inky water with its brilliant multi-colored touch. His rapt attention was diverted by Draco, who had sat down on the end of his bed.

“Breakfast is in about an hour.” Draco said, flopping sleepily over Alexei’s leg and carefully stroking along Shui’s coiled body from where the snake had wound around Alexei’s waist for body heat. The friends were both cuddly people and had spent a lot of the summer re-establishing their childhood rapport.

The snake hissed something softly to Alexei and then she shifted, slithering off the bed and along the floor, off in search for her own breakfast. The boys spent the remaining time until breakfast in a blanket nest talking quietly, mostly about Durmstrang.

Hayri and Alviero woke up about a half hour before seven, while Teddy slept in until only ten minutes before they were going to go down to breakfast. The first day meant that students often chose to get up earlier than was strictly necessary, especially new students, in order to make sure they got to the right classes on time, with the bonus of getting to spend time on the grounds before the school day properly began. Fin Beach, the closest beach to the main building, was an especially popular spot during the warmer months. While Durmstrang had a curfew, it was a lot laxer in restricting where and when students could go, as there wasn’t anything especially dangerous on the island. Hogwarts, in comparison, was a safety hazard waiting to happen.

The trio of former Hogwarts students had free time until nine after breakfast and they chose to further explore the castle Durmstrang resided in. All the classrooms were conveniently arranged on the first floor along with the Dining Hall and trophy cases, while the second floor was split between student dorms and the living quarters of the staff and professors. The third floor was where the upper three classes resided, accompanied by the library, study rooms, storage, and the Headmaster’s office. The latter summoned them for a quick meeting as they were passing by and let them know to come to him if they needed anything. Karkaroff was one of Marvolo’s followers and had been charged with assisting and protecting the trio while they were at Durmstrang.

Breakfast had been a casual affair, since schedules had been handed out the previous day, and Alexei noticed that there was a diverse variety of foods available and that this diversity was reflected in the students of the school. Unlike Hogwarts, where it was rare to see any students not from the UK, Durmstrang hosted wixen from all across Europe and some parts of Asia, though there was definitely a larger amount from Eastern Europe than anywhere else. The meals so far had also been more buffet style and had healthier options than Hogwarts, which overly focused on meat and sweets.

Feeling nostalgic and a bit homesick that morning, Alexei had opted for a fried egg with rye bread, along with a small stack of oladyi. His Russian heritage wasn’t widely known outside of close family and friends due to the somewhat traumatic loss of his mother, but Draco saw his chosen breakfast and smiled fondly, taking a few vareniki for his own plate. Draco had some continental European heritage through his father’s side himself, though he chose to stick to a basic breakfast of toast and cereal with yogurt. Daphne had joined them as they went down the stairs to the ground floor and was sitting on the other side of Alexei this morning, drinking a cup of tea and cutting a slice of cheese for herself to add to her mixed berries and danish.

During their free time before classes, the trio were approached by Teodor and another boy his age who was introduced as Viktor Krum, Bulgarian. Alexei had noticed that it seemed to be an unspoken etiquette to give your country along with your name when meeting people. Maybe to ensure people didn’t unintentionally insult someone from another culture? Krum was quiet and soft-spoken, but friendly, and recommended they visit the library when they had time. Draco thanked him and then the group had to say goodbye as it was only a few minutes until they needed to be on the first floor for Magical History.

The professor of the class introduced himself as Sir Osvaldo Radford and smiled in a cheerful manner, displaying his sharp teeth. He was a vampire and also a beloved member of the staff, as Durmstrang didn’t share the discriminative manner and xenophobia of Hogwarts. It made Alexei happy to see creatures so casually accepted, though he already had experienced for himself the welcoming behavior of the school. His ears and tail weren’t overly focused on but they weren’t ignored either, with classmates careful not to accidentally touch them or trigger his instincts in a negative manner. Draco and Daphne didn’t display their veela features yet, having not come into an early inheritance as Alexei had, but had still been welcomed by a group of older veela students at breakfast who could sense their creature side anyways.

The trio were thoroughly enjoying their classes and Alexei thought idly that he would’ve liked to come here since first year. The teachers were all competent and helpful, teaching in a capable manner and they clearly knew their subjects well and enjoyed teaching them, unlike certain staff members of Hogwarts (Lockhart, Quirrel, and Trelawney to name a few, even Severus on the second aspect). Instead of DADA was the simply named Defense, while adequate warning and protection were taught as part of the Dark Arts class. Defense alternated days with Dueling, where wixen were taught both wand duels as well as staff fighting and hand to hand combat. 

After Magical History had been Runes, then a break for lunch before the afternoon classes. The afternoon was definitely the heaviest part of their schedule, with four classes, then dinner, then another class. It was tiring but interesting, especially seeing all of the things that Hogwarts neglected to teach and banned for what Alexei was now certain were irrelevant and irresponsible reasons. He was very glad for the summer lessons now, knowing he would’ve been drowning in the curriculum at this point otherwise.

The first week flew past quickly in a jumble of classes and laughter with new friends, and before Alexei knew it, Saturday had arrived and an expanse of time suddenly opened up in front of him. His assignments were all finished and so it was with a wide smile that he bothered Draco into exploring the grounds with him. Daphne had declined, preferring to stay in the castle with Katona to work on some sort of extra credit arts project for Lady Dinara.

Exiting the building through the Pavillion doors, the duo spotted a well-maintained cottage with a path leading to it, though it was unconnected to the path they were standing on. Walking across the expanse of grass, Alexei spotted Groundskeeper Basaran, who had introduced herself the first evening in the Dining Hall. She was digging through a pile of what appeared to be gardening supplies outside of a shed, clearly looking for something.

Looking up at their approach, Basaran waved cheerfully, asking them if they saw a watering can anywhere. Alexei scanned the items and pointed out where the spout of a blue watering can was peeking out from under the edge of several pairs of gardening shears and rake.

“Thanks, boys! Did you need something?” Basaran asked, picking up the watering can and setting it aside before starting to put the rest of the things away in the shed.

“We were going to explore the island,” Alexei replied, smiling back at the woman who was looking at them attentively. “I wondered if you had any recommendations for places to visit?”

“Hmm, let me think... Well, I definitely would say check out Ash Beach. It’s farther away from the school, but worth the extra walk in my opinion. There’s some lovely tide pools and I often find interesting things washed up. Just the other day I found some sea pickles.” The groundskeeper responded, nodding and adding after a moment, “There’s also a great spot at the eastern edge of Sukko Forest for finding edible mushrooms. Don’t eat any without checking with me, first, okay? I don’t want Panacea having you on her hands, ya hear?” Basaran’s eyes turned fond at the mention of her wife, who was the school’s healer and ran the Durmstrang ‘hospital’ from inside their cottage, which was quite a bit larger on the inside.

Draco and Alexei nodded in understanding, thanking Basaran before taking the path from her front door all the way along the side of the castle, where it connected with the path running along the edge of the island to the beaches. They came across Raheema and Aria on their way back towards the school as they walked and stopped to talk for a moment before continuing on their way. 

Their venture to Ash Beach was rewarded with a sighting of a namaqua dove, which were very rare in the Black Sea area, coming from sub-saharan Africa. The boys also spotted some eurasian dotterel and terek sandpipers. Draco found a stunning pearlescent feather that he promptly pocketed as a gift for Daphne, while Alexei snorted in amusement and promptly made bird jokes until Draco tried to shove him into a large tide pool.


	30. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to get back into the plot!

It was only a few weeks into the school year when Headmaster Karkaroff stood one evening at dinner to give an announcement. He waited until all of the students had stopped talking before explaining that Durmstrang would be participating in an international competition that year. They would be competing with Hogwarts and Beauxbatons in the newly-reinstated TriWizard Tournament, which had been thoroughly adapted for safety by the ICW. Apparently, the British Ministry had been planning some tasks that broke regulations so they had the whole thing taken from their hands. Instead, an Irish ICW delegate by the name of Aoife Byrne would be overseeing the tournament.

Karkaroff explained that a group of 8th year students would be traveling to Hogwarts for the majority of the year and assured them that they would not have to rely on the sub-standard teaching of the British school and that the Durmstrang professors had all worked together on a sort of floo video so that they could give lessons in the evenings. Some younger students would also be asked to go to present their talents, but would not be participating in the actual competition. Karkaroff looked in the direction of the trio and glanced at several other students as he said this.

Alexei looked at Daphne and Draco and raised an inquiring eyebrow. Personally, he would enjoy returning as his true self if only to see the Hogwarts students make a fool of themselves, but wasn’t sure if it was really safe. He’d have to consult with his father and Marvolo on the matter. His two friends both wanted to go, as did he, so it was only a matter of working out something with their families to return.

That evening, the three transfer students gathered around a table in a quiet study room on the third floor, waiting for a response from Lord Slytherin, who Alexei had written on the matter. Karkaroff had formally approached them after dinner to request they go on the trip and had given them the necessary forms to send by owl to their parents.

After a few minutes that felt like hours, Alexei’s mate responded, his elegant handwriting appearing on the pale pages in shimmering green ink.  _ It will be arranged. Severus will only be there as a spectator for the tasks itself, but I have been chosen as one of the tournament judges so I can keep an eye on you and also get to spend time with you for the entire year. _

Alexei grinned and shared the response with his friends, who cheered and smiled. They were looking forward to getting to see some of their friends who had stayed at Hogwarts. It was getting late now, so the trio gathered their things after checking the time and returned to the dorms to get some sleep.

***

One morning, about a week or so before the delegation from Durmstrang would depart for the tournament, Alexei was alone in the library looking for a book. He came out of the bookshelves and found a stressed-looking Viktor sitting at the table next to his own.

“Hey, are you alright?” He asked, concerned.

Viktor looked up and smiled faintly. “Yeah, just thinking about the tournament. They were very dangerous before, people have even died. The Headmaster expects me to enter, I think, so I am conflicted.” His words had a slight hum to them, the only evidence that the translation wards on the school were in effect. With so many wixen from different places coming together, it was a very necessary thing in order for any communication to happen.

Alexei frowned, recalling what he’d read about the tournament after looking it up to find out more about it. “Yes, but the ICW is in charge this time, thankfully, and the judges are competent. I don’t believe they will allow anything to happen, especially since the tournament is highly publicized and they don’t want to start an international incident. If you really don’t want to participate, then don’t, but I think you will enjoy it.” He said, smiling in a friendly manner. Marvolo had told him about the many safety precautions that were being taken and it sounded like they had all their bases covered.

Viktor looked at him in deep thought for a moment, scanning his face for anything ungenuine, before he nodded. “Thank you, then, I will consider that.”

Alexei waved goodbye and left to check out the book he had come to the library for, grabbing his bag and heading down the stairs to join his friends out on the front lawn. Hayri, Katona, Daphne, and Draco were already there, lying on a red and pink striped picnic blanket and talking. Draco sat up at Alexei’s arrival, greeting him and filling him in on the current topic of conversation. Apparently, Professor Salcedo was planning on going into the forest in search of bowtruckles with his classes the next day. Intrigued, Alexei asked if there were a lot of them in Sukko Forest, to which the answer was a resounding yes and that a colony had taken up residence after being brought there by Newt Scamander himself back in the 50s.


	31. Chapter Twenty Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Off to Hogwarts our lovely characters go!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts on Dumbledore and the Tournament! Hope you enjoy reading <3

Carrying his featherlight trunk with him, Alexei boarded the Durmstrang Ship that would be sailing to Scotland that day. Daphne and Draco were right behind, holding their own luggage, along with Hayri, Katona, Teodor, and Viktor. Out of the delegation, these six were the only students Alexei knew, though he knew _of_ a few others.

The trio of former Hogwarts students found themselves bombarded with questions by the Durmstrang students who wanted to know more about the school they would be staying at for the year. Teodor in particular seemed fascinated by the giant squid that resided in the lake and announced he would go swimming with it some time when it was warmer. The more tropical location of Durmstrang meant that they were unused to the harsh winters of Britain and the Beauxbatons students weren’t much better off. Karkaroff had instructed all of the students to pack warm clothes, so hopefully no one would suffer too badly.

Alexei yawned, tired from having stayed up late the previous evening, and flopped down against Draco, who poked him in annoyance as he was trying to read a book. Several unsuccessful attempts to get Alexei to move later, Draco groaned and gave up, putting his book away and instead choosing to play a floating game of chess with Daphne while Alexei took a nap on his shoulder.

A buffet lunch was served around noon and Hayri sat with Teodor and Viktor while Katona, Daphne, Draco, and Alexei took the next table over. Magic came in handy when making a ship stable on the inside and unless they went on deck, students could almost forget that they were in the middle of the ocean. Those prone to seasickness were quite thankful for this.

Viktor seemed a lot less worried than before and sat in a relaxed manner, talking quietly with Teodor. Hayri didn’t seem to mind being left out of the conversation, instead enjoying his lunch in peaceful silence, though he rolled his eyes and moved to join the younger students after the two exchanged a kiss and vanished to go do whatever it is couples do. Karkaroff couldn’t be bothered to police that sort of thing, as long as it wasn’t overly public, being of the opinion that any consequences that happened were the fault of the couple. Alexei had to agree, really.

It had come as a surprise to Alexei to find that Teodor and Viktor were dating, not really because he couldn’t see them together, but more because he hadn’t seen them interact in a non platonic manner before. The two tended to be fairly private with their relationship, sticking to exchanging chaste kisses and holding hands when around others. He’d happened upon them kissing one day after bursting into Teodor’s room to ask him a question about an assignment and promptly turned an embarrassed shade of pink before apologizing. The two had laughed it off and Teodor had kindly explained the properties of African sea salt to Alexei before shooing him away.

Katona poked him on the shoulder, pulling Alexei from his thoughts, and asked, “Want to get a head start on that Runes assignment?” The two were partners for the project, having to put together a runic array and write seven paragraphs on its uses and history.

Nodding, Alexei finished his food and stood up. Draco and Daphne looked up from their conversation, waving goodbye to them as they left the dining area. Hayri left with Katona and Alexei, going back to his own room. Since the Durmstrang students going to Hogwarts were much less than the usual amount which traveled on the first and last days of school, each person received their own private room instead of sharing.

***

Putting down his quill, Alexei stretched his arms over his head and his tail flicked up as he did so, prompting Katona to smile as she was reminded of a kitten stretching after lying down for a while. They had just finished the conclusion of the runes assignment and Alexei rolled the paper up after using a spell to dry the ink, duplicating it so each could turn in a copy via floo. The Durmstrang staff had been very creative in their planning for the trip, enacting an impressive system to deliver lessons and grade assignments.

The sound of bells from above alerted them to the fact that the ship was approaching land and Alexei went back to his own room, changing into the formal red robes of Durmstrang and straightening his hair as best he could. He joined his friends as they walked up to the deck, all having changed into their own robes. Viktor was ushered to stand right behind Karkaroff with Teodor by his side, while the younger students were placed in the middle of the group and several of the other older candidates for champion were at the very back.

Alexei looked over the water at the stone towers and walls of Hogwarts, feeling a knot of emotions fighting for dominance in his chest. Nervous anticipation filled him and eager to see Marvolo, he had to focus on maintaining a calm persona in order to prevent himself from bouncing his foot.

Near a courtyard, the golden carriage of Beauxbatons had already landed and the large form of the giantess headmistress Maxime could be seen talking to someone in obnoxiously bright robes that Alexei was certain had to be Dumbledore. No one else had that eccentric of a fashion style.

The banners of Durmstrang waved proudly in the light wind as the ship dropped anchor and the students made their way into the landing boats in an orderly manner. It was a nice day and the sky was bright with a scattering of fluffy clouds drifting past. Karkaroff was the first to step out of the boat and the students followed, swiftly forming the same line as they had on the deck before, with the youngest of Durmstrang in the middle.

Hogwarts students were crowded along the edges of the courtyard, gawking at the international students from all directions. It was odd to see how few students Hogwarts really had after living at Durmstrang. The wars and questionable leadership meant that many of the surviving families chose to go elsewhere.

They were met by a tall woman in the distinct silver robes of the ICW, who introduced herself as Lady Byrne, the one who was overseeing the tournament. She directed them to stand with Beauxbatons for a moment and decide where they would like to sit for meals. Unlike Durmstrang, the Beauxbatons students would not be living in their transport and so had been given rooms in an empty part of the castle, which probably used to be classrooms before they had been fixed up for the guests.

Glancing briefly in the direction of Draco and the others, Karkaroff said that the Durmstrang delegation would prefer to be seated with the house of Slytherin, while Maxime nodded politely and announced her own preference for Ravenclaw, patting the shoulder of a familiar looking blonde haired girl who Alexei later discovered was a cousin of Luna Lovegood.

Dumbledore arrived from where he’d been talking to Filch in a whirl of clashing colors and long beard and beamed at the Beauxbatons delegation, sparing only a judgemental glance at the Durmstrang students before falling into step with Maxime as they walked towards the great hall. Byrne frowned at Dumbledore and chose to walk next to Karkaroff.

Tired from their long journey, both groups of students were relieved when they were directed to take a seat at the table and rest, as they had nothing else to do except eat dinner that evening. Daphne beamed at a brown haired girl at the Slytherin table and took a seat next to her, greeting ‘Tracey’ with a warm smile. Draco took the other side of Daphne, leaving Hayri and Alexei to sit across from them. Katona and Teodor were a little farther down, eating quietly and politely answering questions the Slytherins near them were asking. Viktor was stuck with Karkaroff for the moment, all the while shooting longing glances in Teodor’s direction or perhaps just the food next to him. Alexei spotted Marvolo sitting near one end of the staff table and gave a barely perceptible wave to his mate, which was returned.

Tracey finally came up for air from her conversation with Daphne, saw Alexei, and introduced herself politely, saying, “Tracey Davis, nice to meet you. You are?”

“Alexei Snape.” He replied with a slight smirk, enjoying the widening eyes and raised eyebrows of everyone within hearing distance.

Theo on Daphne’s other side smiled and said, “Glad to hear Professor Snape finally found his son. He quit last year after his contract was up, told us Slytherins to watch each other's backs, you know.” 

Alexei nodded, replying, “Yes, I heard that your new head of house is Alan Navarro, a reputable brewer from Spain. What do you think of him?”

Theo said with obvious relief in his voice, “Professor Navarro is thankfully competent and has done well so far, though it has only been a month or so. I was worried that our Potions professor might end up falling into the same sad pattern as DADA.”

Hayri who wasn’t aware of the curse on the position, asked what Theo meant, and the two quickly fell into a quick-paced discussion of international defense education which had the surrounding students mostly lost. Alexei turned back to his food, choosing to finish the meal in silence, only looking up a few times and noting one time that Viktor had thankfully been able to finally join his boyfriend at the Slytherin table and was now enjoying some meat pie.

As dinner came to a conclusion, Byrne stood up from where they were sitting at the staff table with the headmasters of the other schools and apologized for dragging out the evening, promising to keep it short so the international students could get to bed. She explained in a concise and understandable manner how the Tournament was going to work this time, announcing that the TriWizard Cup would be collecting the names of those who wanted to participate and that one champion from each school would be chosen by the Cup’s magic. Entries would be accepted starting tomorrow morning at 8 am.

Alexei sighed in relief when she finished and wished them all a good night, moving to stand only to be foiled by the annoying sound of Dumbledore clearing his throat loudly with a Sonorous charm. No one needed that level of vocal clarity on someone clearing their throat, seriously, it was disgusting. Marvolo from his place at the staff table obviously winced at the noise and exchanged a nauseated look with Alexei from across the hall.

The Hogwarts headmaster proceeded to ramble on about unity and the competition for about twenty minutes, clearly showing that he didn’t actually know what the Tournament was going to be with his awkward and contradictory statements. Even some of the Hogwarts staff were giving the man odd looks. The ICW delegate looked up at the ceiling as if praying for magic to strike the man down with some enchanted lightning. 

Finally, Dumbledore concluded his meandering speech and dismissed everyone, wherein the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students fled before the man thought of something else to say. The Slytherin students swiftly followed, accompanied by the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students, while the Gryffindors seemed oblivious and leisurely followed the other groups.

Alexei was waylaid on his way back to the ship by Marvolo, who pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and handed him a small box, which turned out to be a silver snake pin. There was a note accompanying it that read, _Good night, kitten. Sleep well and I hope you will wear this pin, it is a symbol of my affection as well as a protection against harm._

He smiled at the sweet note and made sure to write a goodnight in their two-way journal before preparing for bed. The snake pin was placed on his nightstand to make sure he’d remember to wear it, while his red Durmstrang robes were draped over the hook on the back of his door. Alexei was thrilled to be able to spend time with Marvolo again, he’d missed his mate while at Durmstrang. Talking with him was wonderful, but he really wanted to cuddle with him and witness all the quirks Marvolo had such as fidgeting with things when agitated and tugging on his ear when lost in thought.


	32. Chapter 32

Alexei was slightly irritated by the weight of the glamorous hiding his neko features, having gotten used to not having to wear them while at Durmstrang. All of the creatures who came to Hogwarts from both of the other schools had all been warned about Hogwarts generally being anti-creature and provided help on protecting themselves if needed. Truly, Hogwarts was almost xenophobic in general. Hogwarts had made only a token attempt at international cuisine, but thankfully the house elves in the kitchens were more than happy to provide some salads and other basics to the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables for the international students.

The word of Alexei’s last name had rapidly spread around the school within the last few days and he now got lots of glances and whispers directed his way, reminding him of the years he’d spent trapped in the false body and mind of Harry Potter. A shudder went through him at remembering the horrible experience and Draco reached out to steady him in concern.

“Alright?” He asked quietly, darting a look around the corridor as if trying to figure out what had set his friend off.

“Yeah, just, don’t like the attention, y’know? Reminds me of before this summer.” Alexei replied with a frown, looking meaningfully at Draco, whose eyes widened in understanding.

“Ah, I’ll try and stop the worst of it...and soon there will be something else for them to focus on.” Draco said wryly, referring to the tournament they were here for in the first place.

Alexei nodded in agreement and took a seat at the desk next to Draco as they arrived in the DADA classroom, which a good chunk of the foreign students also seemed interested in experiencing. They weren’t required to complete the homework assignments and could just spend some time in the class and practice spells. This year’s DADA teacher was Alastor Moody, an old paranoid auror who was probably a bit too trigger happy for children to be safe around him, but he fit in well with the rest of the dangerous and incompetent staff of Hogwarts.

The door slammed open and the professor in question stomped into the room, his wooden leg impacting the stone floor with loud thunks every time he took a step. Moody looked around at the students, his eyes narrowing as they landed on Alexei, and seeming suspicious of all the Durmstrang students on principle. Alexei barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes, knowing Moody was notorious for his hatred of Dark Wizards, which was a stereotype anyways. 

Moody swiveled on his feet suddenly and barked, “Granger, what is the best shield to use against a Stunner?”

The know-it-all Gryffindor looked down her nose as the surrounding students, radiating smugness as she said, “The best shield is the Shield Charm, which creates a blue field of energy that blocks and returns the spell towards its caster.” She appeared to be reciting from a textbook, having memorized it previously.

Moody nodded sharply in approval and said, “20 points to Gryffindor.” He continued with class, his bias towards the house of lions growing ever more obvious as he ignored all the students except Gryffindors and the occasional Beauxbatons student.

By the time the class had ended, Alexei was firmly decided never to return, having hated every second of the class and also knowing working on his Durmstrang assignments was a much better use of his time. The students who had attended other classes also seemed mostly unimpressed, though they hadn’t really gone into the situation expecting great classes anyways. The exception to this were the few who had ventured to Herbology and Runes, who returned raving about Professor Sprout’s talent with plants and how Vector clearly knew what she was talking about. 

Alexei sat down in one of the common areas of the ship and began writing letters to Teddy and Alviero, his roommates who had stayed at Durmstrang. Just because they were no longer physically with each other as often didn’t mean he wanted to lose the friendship he had with them. The letters he was writing now would be only the first of many he would write that year.

After finishing his letters and sending them off using the floo, since it made more sense than using an owl with the fireplace already connected to the school, Alexei joined the other students in the Great Hall for dinner. He felt Dumbledore’s eyes on him, glaring at him as he often did, not very subtly he might add. Several of the Slytherins and Durmstrang students had already expressed concern with the man’s hostile attention towards Alexei and had been assured that it was being taken care of. Alexei wasn’t lying at all, especially since he caught Marvolo sending a discreet itching hex which was targeted at an uncomfortable place the Headmaster’s way which quickly diverted the man’s attention as Dumbledore tried to resist the urge to scratch himself  _ there _ in public.

It would’ve been a nice end to the day, except unfortunately the day wasn’t over yet, as Alexei found himself accosted by the unpleasant group of Hermione, Ron, and GInny outside the Great Hall. They sneered at him and Hayri, the two who had left dinner a bit earlier than the rest of their friends.

Ron seemed to be the leader of this little group for the evening, standing in the middle and giving an impromptu speech about what a disgusting person Alexei was, purely because of who his father was, and that he must be a Dark Wizard because of his parents and school. 

Ginny just stood there sneering, content to merely watch her brother and friend harass him. 

Hermione joined in with some remarks about him as well, telling him that his mother would have been ashamed of him, which made Alexei spark with fury and reach for his wand.

He was beaten to the punch by a swift volley of spells that flew past his ear and hit the trio, rendering them mute as a furious Professor Flitwick arrived. The half-goblin was extremely intimidating at the moment, reminding Alexei that the Charms professor was also an international dueling champion.

Flitwick ignored the silent screaming coming from the Gryffindors and calmly assigned the trio detention for a month before turning to the two Durmstrang students and offering to escort them back to the ship. He also apologized for the Gryffindors behavior, though Alexei told him firmly that it wasn’t his fault and he was glad to see they would be given punishment.

The Charms professor nodded politely and turned to go, as they had arrived on the dock. Hayri watched him go before turning to Alexei and insisting on making them some hot chocolate and playing board games with him, which expanded to have half a dozen other students play with them after the rest of Durmstrang returned from dinner.


	33. Chapter Thirty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The champions are chosen ft. a surprise that is actually surprising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy my little twist on the goblet scene! <3

Alexei watched curiously as the Goblet of Fire was carried up to the platform and set down by the trio holding it with an audible thunk. He knew Viktor had put his name in, along with all of the other of age students who had come, and was interested to see how it would go about picking the champions, as no book he could find went into detail about it.

Lady Byrne stood next to the Goblet and cast a spell which made a ringing sound until all of the students had silenced themselves and were looking expectantly in her direction. “Thank you.” She said, smiling. “Now, this evening the three champions will be chosen and then given an explanation of the first task by the judges, who are here with me tonight. The Goblet of Fire is an impartial judge and those of you who have put your name in have all been considered. Good luck.” 

There were five judges for the tournament, including Byrne and they were all standing behind the ICW representative. Alexei recognized Nicholas Flamel and Newt Scamander from history books, obviously knowing Marvolo, but the last representative was a bit of a mystery. Alexei leaned over to Draco, assuming he’d probably know, and found that it was someone called Ludo Bagman, a representative from the Magical Games and Sports department. 

The goblet’s flames rose up higher as Byrne tapped her wand on the base and the blue shifted into a burning crimson. A finger of flames flicked up into the air and then a piece of paper was flung out and drifted down to land in the palm of Lady Byrne. She peered at the scribbled handwriting for a moment, deciphering the name, before announcing, “The champion for Hogwarts will be Cedric Diggory.”

Hufflepuff exploded into raucous cheers, with the other houses applauding more or less enthusiastically as well. The Slytherins hadn’t been expecting one of their own to be called, as the rewards didn’t seem worth the risk and effort to them, so as long as it wasn’t a Gryffindor they were satisfied. A few Gryffindors appeared to be complaining about a Puff being chosen, while the Ravenclaws were smiling and clapping politely.

The Goblet of Fire spat out another name and this time Byrne said, “For Beauxbatons, the champion will be Fleur Delacour.” Applause echoed through the room as a tall blonde girl followed Diggory into the side chamber where the champions would have the tournament explained more to them. From his place at the staff table, Dumbledore looked gleefully in Alexei’s direction before turning his attention back to the judges.

Everyone looked expectantly back at the goblet, only to find the flames changing color once more, this time to a sickly green. A rush of sparks shot outwards and with them a glowing piece of paper, with the word ‘Rejected’ hanging in the air above it in bloodred letters. Byrne’s eyebrows shot up and she carefully caught the scrap of parchment, scanning it.

“Rejected for entering another name, entered by Albus Dumbledore.” She read aloud from the half-burnt paper obscuring the name that had been entered, causing the entire room to whip around and stare at the Hogwarts Headmaster, whose formerly gleeful expression was now frozen in horror.

Alexei’s eyes shot towards where Marvolo was standing, receiving a short nod. His mate had put wards around the cup as a precaution and it seemed to have been a good thing that he did, since otherwise Alexei would have been forced to compete. By Alexei’s side, his friends exchanged a worried look, vowing to make sure Alexei wasn’t by himself in case Dumbledore tried something again.

The Great Hall was in uproar, with judges and teachers and students all shouting over one another. Delacour and Diggory came back into the room to see what was going on and stared in surprise as they saw one of the judges announce that they put a ward to ensure no one could put another’s name in, only for Dumbledore to promptly seem to notice who this particular judge was and start shouting about Voldemort and that he must have messed with the goblet to harm Dumbledore. No one seemed to believe him and Byrne and Scamander appeared to be considering if they should call the Aurors or not.

Thankfully, a piercing whistle soon filled the room and everyone winced, covering their ears and shutting up. Flitwick surveyed the room for a moment before ending the charm. Byrne gave him a grateful look before casting a Sonorous and announcing the last champion, whose paper had been spat out of the goblet during the chaos. The goblet’s fire was now extinguished, signaling the tournament had officially begun.

“For Durmstrang, the champion will be Viktor Krum.” Byrne said, triggering deafening cheers from the Slytherin table. Teodor hugged his boyfriend tightly, while the rest of Durmstrang congratulated Viktor. A few of the older students looked quite disappointed, but still happy for their champion.

Viktor made his way up to where the other two champions were still standing in the doorway, following the judges into the room. A furious looking Dumbledore dismissed the rest of the students from the Great Hall, before attempting to storm towards where the judges (read: Marvolo) were, only to find himself unable to go into the room. Alexei snorted, enjoying the impromptu show of the headmaster suddenly forgetting what he was doing because of the wards and promptly loudly asking McGonagall if she knew where his lemon drops were.


	34. Chapter Thirty One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of an interlude, short chapter without much plot just fluff and cuddles

Settling down on a bench in one of the empty courtyards, Alexei glanced up at the cloudy sky and let himself relax a little. Despite the looming problem of Dumbledore, Alexei would finally have a quiet year to focus on his studies and friends. After the vaguely blurry chaos of the last three years, it was quite the relief. All of the ridiculous things the man had put him through only made him more eager to see Dumbledore punished as he deserved.

Huffing quietly, Alexei pulled out a book from his schoolbag and settled down to read, losing himself in the pages of the latest installment of a popular fiction series. The main character had just discovered that they had a secret uncle who had been kicked out of the family for using love potions. He was so engrossed in his reading that he didn’t notice someone had approached him until nimble fingers twined themselves with those on his left hand.

Startled, he dropped the book, looking up to see the face of Marvolo just as his mate swiftly reached out and caught the novel before it could hit the ground. Marvolo offered him the book, which Alexei took with a quiet word of thanks, placing it back in his bag and looking expectantly at Marvolo.

Retrieving a newspaper from his robes, Marvolo handed the folded paper to Alexei, saying with a smirk, “I thought you might like to see this lovely article that the Prophet wrote about the illustrious headmaster of Hogwarts.”

Alexei’s eyes lit up, leaning against Marvolo’s shoulder and scanning the page. It seemed someone had decided to sell information to the press, giving the notorious Rita Skeeter the perfect chance to write a wonderful article on how Dumbledore was clearly losing it and insinuating that perhaps the man should be forced to leave the school and go to St. Mungos. With the usual barbs and speculation, the article was a masterpiece of borderline slander, sticking just close enough to the truth to make it believable. The woman’s writing was spectacular, as long as her acid green quill wasn’t directed towards him, that is.

A careful touch on his head made Alexei close his eyes, quietly purring a bit as Marvolo ran his fingers through his hair, cautiously avoiding his silky ears. He melted bonelessly against his mate’s side, fingers clutching onto the soft fabric of Marvolo’s robes and his tail swishing slowly in contentment. The pair were keyed into each other’s glamours, so they could still see their neko features which were invisible and non-existant to everyone else, even Alexei’s friends.

Marvolo probably had important things to do and Alexei knew he had homework, but it was just so comfortable here on the bench with his mate that he couldn’t make himself move. He hated the separation between the two, so every moment they could find together was a precious one. Alexei pouted, thinking that if he didn’t have to go to meals and the ship and if Marvolo wasn’t one of the judges, he would simply refuse to let go. Marvolo looked down at the beautiful boy his arms were wrapped around and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before releasing him. 

A sound that seemed suspiciously like a whine slipped from Alexei, who gathered his things reluctantly and darted a quick look around to see if anyone was watching before pressing a quick kiss to Marvolo’s lips and stealing the soft gray scarf he was wearing. Marvolo watched as his mate made off with the warm fabric and shook his head fondly, turning to return to his rooms in the castle. He needed to make sure everything would be ready for the first task.


End file.
